France approves ban on social media for children under 15

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Tengrinews.kz — Deputies of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and the Senate, the upper house of parliament, have supported a bill banning children under the age of 15 from using social media in France, citing DW.

The restrictions could come into force at the start of the new school year, on September 1. After approval by both houses of parliament, the law is expected to be signed by President Emmanuel Macron. France would thus become the first country in the European Union to approve such a measure.

Under the bill, people under the age of 15 will be banned from creating social media accounts. In addition, online platforms will have until January 1, 2027, to delete existing accounts belonging to minors in this age group.

The bill will also ban the use of mobile phones in upper secondary school and require social media platforms to introduce age verification measures in line with the requirements of France’s personal data protection regulator.

For this purpose, among other tools, an app developed at the initiative of the European Commission and tested in several EU member states may be used.

The bill appeared after France’s health watchdog warned in a December 2025 report about the harmful impact of platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat on children. Potential risks cited included lower self-esteem and a possible increase in self-harm, suicides and drug use.

According to statistics, every second teenager spends between two and five hours a day on a smartphone, while 58 percent use their phones to access social media.

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