The French government is preparing a fresh effort to protect young people from excessive screen time and online risks by proposing a ban on social media for children under 15, Le Monde reported on December 31.
According to a draft law seen by AFP, the measure would make it illegal for social-media platforms to offer services to anyone under the age of 15 by September 2026.
The initiative, supported by French President Emmanuel Macron, would be debated in the French Parliament starting in early 2026. It comes as part of wider concerns about the impact of digital platforms on children, including exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying and changes in sleep patterns.
The draft bill also includes a second measure to ban mobile phone use in secondary schools. Phones have been prohibited in primary and middle schools since 2018, though enforcement has been uneven.
This proposal builds on earlier French attempts to regulate children’s access to digital media. In 2023, France had decided to enforce age verification for users on social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat, as well as require parental consent for those under 15 years old but implementing that requirement has been delayed due to technical and legal challenges.
Earlier in December, Australia became the first country to ban young teenagers from social media, AFP reported.A raft of the world’s most popular apps and websites face US$33 million fines if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16.
“Too often, social media isn’t social at all,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ahead of the ban. “Instead, it’s used as a weapon for bullies, a platform for peer pressure, a driver of anxiety, a vehicle for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators.”
