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France votes to ban social media access for children under 15

The bill passed the National Assembly on Tuesday by 279 votes to 81, with new accounts blocked from September 1 and existing accounts phased out starting January 2027.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Europe

France’s parliament has approved a bill that bars children under 15 from accessing social media, making it the first EU country to target apps such as TikTok for that age group, according to the Guardian Business.

After the Senate’s earlier approval on Tuesday, the National Assembly passed the measure by 279 votes to 81. The plan includes a two stage rollout, starting with a block on under 15s creating new accounts from September 1, and applying to existing accounts from January 2027, per the legislation.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has promoted the ban as part of his final term reforms, said France is leading in Europe on protecting children and teenagers online. He also said the Constitutional Council must rule on it before the government moves to enforce the measure.

The digital minister, Anne Le Hénanff, said age verification tools already exist, and that platforms would need to impose the rule. She linked enforcement by September to another provision that would ban mobile phones in high schools at the start of the French school year, the outlet noted.

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