France passes law banning under-15s from social media

What the report says

BBC World News reports that France’s parliament has approved legislation that will bar children under 15 from using social media, with full implementation planned for January 2027. The measure makes France the first European country to adopt such a block for this age group, according to the BBC, and comes amid wider European debate over young people’s online safety and mental health.

The law was adopted by both the French Senate and National Assembly on Tuesday. It is due to take effect in stages: from September, under-15s will be prevented from creating new accounts and age checks will be required for new users; from January 2027, the requirement will extend to existing accounts, meaning users in France will need to show they are over 15 to keep accessing social media. Reuters, cited by the BBC, reported that platforms will have to use verification tools approved by France’s privacy regulator.

President Emmanuel Macron has supported the measure, which the BBC says he had pledged to bring in before the end of his decade in office. French Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff defended the rapid rollout, saying age-checking technology already exists, while critics have raised concerns about privacy, enforcement, possible circumvention by teenagers and the speed of the legislative process.

The BBC places the French move in the context of Australia’s under-16 social media ban, where regulators later found many affected children still retained some access. Internet studies professor Tama Leaver told the BBC that France’s universal age-verification requirement could improve enforcement, but may also heighten privacy risks and push young users toward less regulated online spaces.