France becomes first EU nation to ban social media access for under-15 | World | News

Both chambers of the Parliament voted in favour of the measure, a flagship initiative of Mr Macron’s second term. The bill also bans the use of mobile phones in high schools. Children’s advocates and parents applauded the vote. “We’ve been campaigning for this bill from the start because, frankly, we have no other option, no other way to counter tech giants,” said Gaëlle Berbonde, a 52-year-old who lives in the Paris region. “The only thing we can do is protect our children, just as we protect our children from drinking alcohol.”

“France is leading the way in Europe when it comes to protecting our children and teenagers,” Mr Macron said in a video posted on social media, hailing “a major step forward”.

He thanked members of parliament for backing the legislation on Tuesday.

“The Constitutional Council must now rule on it, and then it will be time to take action to make this measure a reality and protect our children online,” he added on X.

The legislation proposed a two-phase rollout of the ban. Beginning on September 1, children under the age of 15 would be prohibited from creating new accounts. The restrictions would then be extended to existing accounts from January 2027, ensuring that the ban applied to both new and current users within the specified age group.

Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff said before the vote that the timeline was realistic, “because age-verification tools already exist” and others are still in the works, and the onus was on the platforms to impose the rule.

“For four months, all of us in France will have to prove our age”” she told journalists. “If someone is under 15, the account will be closed.”

The European Commission has been exploring the possibility of restricting children’s access to social media following calls from several member states, including France, Greece, and Spain, for tighter controls.

Supporting this approach, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently stated that children should be granted only “phased and gradual access” to social media platforms.

In parallel, the Commission has introduced an age-verification application, which several EU countries, including France, have been testing in recent months as part of efforts to strengthen online safety measures for young users.