France’s parliament has approved a law to ban social media for under-15s from January 2027, making it the first European country to block young people from the platforms.
The law will mean everyone in France must verify their age to access social media and comes as the UK and EU are developing their own limits in response to concerns for children’s mental health.
French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed the move, which he had pledged to introduce to mark the end of his decade in office.
While sceptics have questioned the law’s viability, the government has insisted the online tools to put the age checks in place are effective and safe.
Both the French Senate and National Assembly adopted the ban on Tuesday, despite criticism from some on the left.
It will be implemented in two stages:
- From September, people under 15 will not be able to open accounts and age verification will be required on all new accounts
- In January 2027, this rule will apply to all existing accounts – meaning everyone in France will have to prove they are over 15 to use social media
Once the ban is in place, social media platforms would need to use age-verification tools approved by the French privacy regulator, according to Reuters news agency.