France becomes first EU country to ban social media for under-15s, with new accounts blocked from September

France has become the first European Union member to prohibit social media access for children under 15, after the Senate and National Assembly definitively adopted the law on 21 July 2026. The ban, a flagship project of President Emmanuel Macron's second term, will take effect in two phases: from 1 September 2026, platforms must block the creation of new accounts by under-15s, and by January 2027 all existing accounts must be age-verified, with non-compliant profiles deleted.

What the ban covers

The law targets social media platforms but carves out several exceptions. Online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia, messaging services like WhatsApp, and open-source educational platforms are not covered. YouTube will remain partially accessible: children can watch videos and exchange personal messages but cannot view algorithm-driven content. The legislation also extends the existing mobile phone ban to high schools, though schools may request exemptions.

The brain of our children and adolescents is not for sale, neither to American platforms nor to Chinese algorithms.

Enforcement and age verification

How platforms will verify age remains unresolved. The law does not prescribe a specific method, though the government has mentioned identity documents or facial recognition. Dutch digital rights group Bits of Freedom warned that verification apps could be broken by hackers within minutes, citing a Politico report that cyber experts cracked a European verification app's source code in under two minutes. Policy advisor Lotje Beek argued the focus on an age ban distracts from the real problem of harmful, addictive algorithms.

Social media are harmful for everyone. They also find the Achilles heel of adults.

European and international reactions

The French move intensifies pressure on Brussels to craft a unified approach. The European Parliament called for an EU-wide ban for under-16s in November 2025, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a proposal would be ready after the summer. Meanwhile, national positions diverge: Italy, Germany, and Norway require parental consent; the Netherlands wants an EU minimum age of 15 but prefers to wait for common rules; Finland is studying a ban; Slovenia has announced an intention to ban but taken no concrete steps. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni opposes a general ban, calling it easily circumvented via fake accounts or VPNs, and favours responsibility of families and platforms.

Macron has framed the issue in geopolitical terms and used the French G7 presidency to secure a unanimous leaders' appeal for a safer digital space for minors, backed also by invited countries India and Brazil. He now wants to build an international "coalition of the willing".

Doubts and the Australian precedent

Sceptics point to Australia, which introduced a social media ban for under-16s in December 2025. A half-year review in June 2026 found that neither children nor tech companies were taking the ban seriously. In France, 74% of parents of children aged 6 to 16 support the prohibition, according to the Observatoire de la parentalité numérique, but experts warn that strict bans are hard to enforce and may increase the allure of forbidden platforms. The law still faces review by the Constitutional Council before full implementation.