French lawmakers approved a bill banning social media for children under 15 on Monday, as the idea of setting a minimum age for use of the platforms gains momentum across Europe.
The bill, which also bans the use of mobile phones in high schools, was adopted by a 130-21 vote late Monday. French President Emmanuel Macron has requested that the legislation be fast-tracked and it will now be discussed by the Senate in the coming weeks.
“Banning social media for those under 15: this is what scientists recommend, and this is what the French people are overwhelmingly calling for,” Macron said after the vote.
“Because our children’s brains are not for sale — neither to American platforms nor to Chinese networks. Because their dreams must not be dictated by algorithms.”
The French legislation is part of a wave of measures being discussed across Europe, following Australia’s enforcement of the world’s strictest social media rules for children under 16 last year.
Denmark has also secured an agreement to block access to social media for anyone under 15 – a move that could potentially become law by mid-2026.
Complying with EU law
France has long pushed for stricter rules regarding children’s access to screens and social media.
In 2023, lawmakers passed legislation restricting social media access for minors under 15, and also required parental consent before they could open an account. However, the law never entered into force as it clashed with the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA).
After the EU revised its guidelines last year, member states gained more flexibility to decide on their own age limits for social media – whether that means banning access outright for children under a certain age, or requiring parental consent before they can open an account.
France's draft legislation does not specify which social media platforms will be included in the ban, but makes exceptions for encyclopedias such as Wikipedia and other “educational directories”.
The exact age verification method that will be used is also up for debate. Miller told local media that it would likely follow a similar procedure as with pornographic websites, which are required to verify users are over 18 by a 2024 law.
Porn websites primarily use two methods for age verification in France: The first asks users to submit a photo of their national ID card along with a selfie to confirm their identity; the second uses artificial intelligence (AI) to estimate a user’s age based on a selfie they submit.
This story was updated with news that the bill was voted through.
