France has become the first European Union country to ban children under the age of 15 from using social media after lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a new law on Tuesday.
The legislation, strongly backed by President Emmanuel Macron, is expected to take effect at the start of the new school year in September.
Announcing the development, Macron said, “Social media will be banned for children under 15 starting this school year,” adding that “the brains of our children and our teenagers are not for sale.”
The new law follows similar moves by Australia, which introduced the world’s first social media ban for under-16s, while the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece and Denmark are preparing comparable restrictions.
French authorities are yet to announce how platforms will verify users’ ages, but the government said mandatory age-verification measures will be introduced.
The law will be enforced by Arcom, France’s audiovisual and digital communications regulator, and is expected to apply to all major social media platforms.
According to Arcom, French children aged 12 to 17 spend an average of one hour and 21 minutes daily on TikTok, with regulators warning that recommendation algorithms often expose young users to harmful and anxiety-inducing content.
While many parents welcomed the ban, some experts argued that age restrictions alone will not fully protect children online.
They called on social media companies to redesign their platforms by removing addictive features and strengthening content moderation.
Critics also raised concerns that the restrictions could limit teenagers’ access to educational content and reduce opportunities for communication with friends.
Nevertheless, supporters say the law marks an important step toward improving children’s digital safety and well-being.
