French lawmakers vote to ban social media for children under 15  

French lawmakers voted this week to ban social media use by children under 15, approving legislation backed by President Emmanuel Macron as part of efforts to regulate screen time and online platforms.

The lower house of parliament adopted the bill by 130 votes to 21 during an overnight session from Monday to Tuesday. The measure now moves to the Senate before it can become law.

Macron welcomed the vote in a post on X, calling it a “major step” to protect children and teenagers.

The legislation would prohibit access to social media platforms for minors under 15 and also includes a ban on mobile phones in high schools. If enacted, France would become the second country to impose such restrictions, following Australia’s ban for under-16s last December.

“The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, either by American platforms or Chinese algorithms,” Macron said in a video broadcast on Saturday.

READ ALSO: UK considers social media ban for under-16s

Authorities want the rules to apply from the start of the 2026 school year for new accounts. Former prime minister Gabriel Attal, who leads Macron’s Renaissance party in the lower house, said he hopes the Senate will pass the bill by mid-February, allowing the ban to take effect on 1 September.

He said, Social media platforms will then have until 31 December to deactivate existing accounts” that do not meet the age requirement.

Attal said the ban on social media for children under 15 is aimed at limiting the effects of excessive screen use and reducing outside influence through digital platforms.

“A number of powers that, through social media platforms, want to colonise minds,” he said.

France’s public health watchdog, ANSES, said this month that platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram can have harmful effects on adolescents, particularly girls, though it said social media is not the only cause of declining mental health. The risks cited include cyberbullying and exposure to violent content.

The bill states that “access to an online social networking service provided by an online platform is prohibited for minors under the age of 15,” while excluding online encyclopedias and educational platforms.

An age verification system would be required to enforce the ban, with work on such tools ongoing at the European level.

Critics have raised concerns about the measure. Arnaud Saint-Martin of the hard-left France Unbowed party described it as “a form of digital paternalism” and an “overly simplistic” response to technology-related harm.

Nine child protection groups also urged lawmakers on Monday to “hold platforms accountable” rather than “ban” children from social media.

Macron has previously supported limits on phone use in schools. France banned mobile phones in colleges in 2018, covering students aged 11 to 15. Former prime minister Elisabeth Borne expressed caution over the new measure.

“It’s more complicated than that,” she told France 2.

“We first need to make sure that the ban is properly enforced in middle schools.”

(The Guardian UK)