France plans social media ban for children under 15: reports

France will attempt for a second time to ban children under 15 from using social media in 2026, local media and news agencies reported on Wednesday.

The country has already placed curbs on mobile phones in schools attended by younger children, but they are not always strictly enforced.

The French government also tried in 2023 to introduce a "digital legal age" of 15, but the legislation conflicted with European Union rules.

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The AFP news agency said it had seen a draft law, backed by President Emmanuel Macron, which cites numerous studies showing the risks to young people from excessive use of digital screens.

French media said the law could be submitted for legal scrutiny in early January, while AFP said the ban could take effect as early as September.

Le Monde newspaper said Macron may announce the plans in his live New Year's Eve address on Wednesday.

Unfettered online access exposes children to "inappropriate content," the draft law says, noting how minors can also be targets for cyberbullying and other harms.

The proposed legislation would make it illegal for social media platforms to offer their services to under 15s and would extend the ban on mobile phone use to high schools.

Public pressure to tackle the harms children experience online has grown in recent years, prompting action from Macron's government.

In 2018, France introduced a mobile phone ban in pre-schools and middle schools (11 to 15-year-olds). However, enforcement is uneven, according to local media.

In 2023, the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, passed a law that set a "digital legal age of 15," requiring social media firms to introduce age verification measures and deactivate accounts for children, unless they had explicit parental/guardian consent.

However, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, raised concerns about conflicts with the bloc's Digital Services Act and other directives by Brussels, so the French law was never fully implemented.

Earlier this month, France's upper house, the Senate, endorsed an initiative to protect teenagers from excessive screen time and social media.

That plan also demands parental authorization before children between 13 and 16 can register with social media sites.

An IPSOS poll published in September showed that 4 in 5 French residents want social networks to be banned for children under 14.

At the EU level, the European Parliament last month urged Brussels to set ​minimum ages for social media access to combat a rise in mental health problems among adolescents from excessive exposure.

The French president has often pointed to social media as a factor in rising violence among young people and has said he wants France to follow Australia's example.

Australia's world-first law, which took effect on December 10, bars anyone under 16 from holding accounts on major platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Facebook, Threads, Twitch and X.

Platforms that fail to block minors face penalties of up to A$49.5 million ($33.02 million, €28.14 million), making it the toughest age‑based social‑media prohibition in the world.

Several other countries are working to introduce similar legislation banning children from social media. Germany's government last month ordered a committee to study the feasibility of new curbs for children, with a final report due in autumn 2026.

From January 1, 2026, Malaysia will require social media platforms to ban users under 16, with mandatory age verification.