France’s Under-15 Social Media Ban

Wat er veranderde

• On August 14, 2026, the Constitutional Council struck down the under-15 social media ban.
• The Council found infringement of freedom of expression and privacy.
• Macron's office committed to working on a new draft law.

Toen nog open

• No verified text defines the narrowed scope, verification design, or covered apps and games for a rewrite.

Waar we op zouden letten

• Whether a redrafted bill can narrow the ban and redesign age checks to survive proportionality review.

Wat we eerst wisten

• France's parliament approved an under-15 social media ban on July 21, 2026, by 279 votes to 81 in the National Assembly.
• The ban is a flagship initiative of President Macron's second term, which he publicly championed and marked with a same-day visit to a children's health centre.
• The BBC says under-15s will be barred from platforms from January 2027.
• Australia was first globally with an under-16 ban in late 2025; the UK announced similar restrictions in June 2026.
• Greece, Slovenia and Sweden are working on similar restrictions.

Toen nog open

• Whether age verification systems can be deployed at French scale without becoming either trivial to evade or intrusive in routine use.
• Whether left-wing lawmakers will refer the law to the Constitutional Council, and if so, on what grounds.
• Which platforms the law will formally cover and how the regulator will treat VPNs, foreign-language apps, and accounts opened before the cutoff.

Waar we op zouden letten

• Whether France's January 2027 implementation becomes the template other EU capitals copy, or the cautionary tale they cite.
• Whether the UK and EU-level restrictions land in time to converge with the French regime or diverge from it.