France's Parliament Has Approved A Bill To Ban Social Media For Children Under 15
Macron called the vote a “major step” to protect children and teenagers in a post on X, saying "we do not want an anxious generation but a generation that believes in France."
On Monday, Jan. 26, lawmakers in France’s National Assembly approved key parts of a bill that would make it illegal for children under the age of 15 to use social media, placing responsibility on companies to prevent underage users from creating or holding accounts.
If applied, the new law would require platforms to block access to young teenagers through age‑verification mechanisms compliant with European Union law, following Australia, which became the world's first to introduce a nationwide ban on social media for children under 16 in December 2025.
The new law also extends an existing ban on smartphones in junior and middle schools to cover high schools.
Lawmakers adopted the bill on Monday after a vote of 130 in favour of the ban to 21 against.
The legislation still needs to pass through the Senate, but if approved, the ban could come into force from September 2026.
The proposal has full support from French president Emmanuel Macron, who has repeatedly argued that social media is damaging to children’s mental health and development and blamed it for increasing violence among children.
Macron called the vote a “major step” to protect children and teenagers in a post on X, saying "we do not want an anxious generation but a generation that believes in France."
The European Parliament is pushing for an EU-wide minimum age of 16 for social media and similar online services, with some allowance for 13 to 16-year-olds to use platforms only with parental consent.
Cherry Mohamed
Isha Jain
