French lawmakers have approved a landmark bill that would ban children under the age of 15 from using social media, a move strongly backed by President Emmanuel Macron as part of a broader effort to protect young people from excessive screen time and online harm.
The lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, passed the bill after an extended overnight debate, with 130 lawmakers voting in favor and 21 against. The legislation will now be reviewed by the Senate, France’s upper chamber, before it can become law.
President Macron described the vote as a “major step” in safeguarding children and teenagers, saying that young people’s emotions should not be exploited or manipulated by powerful digital platforms and opaque algorithms.
If enacted, the law would make France the second country, after Australia, to introduce a nationwide social media ban for minors. Australia implemented a similar restriction for under-16s in December. The French legislation also includes provisions to prohibit mobile phone use in high schools, building on an earlier ban in middle schools introduced in 2018.
Authorities aim to enforce the new rules starting with the 2026 school year for newly created accounts. According to Gabriel Attal, former prime minister and leader of Macron’s Renaissance party in the National Assembly, existing accounts that do not meet age requirements would need to be deactivated by the end of 2026. Attal said he hopes the Senate will approve the bill by mid-February, allowing the ban to come into effect on September 1.
Supporters of the bill argue that rising screen time is contributing to mental health challenges among young people. France’s public health watchdog, ANSES, recently warned that platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram can have harmful effects on adolescents, particularly girls, including increased exposure to cyberbullying and violent or disturbing content.
The proposed law clearly states that access to online social networking services would be prohibited for minors under 15. Educational platforms and online encyclopedias are excluded from the ban. To make the measure effective, a robust age-verification system would be required, an issue currently being addressed at the European level.
However, the bill has faced criticism. Lawmakers from the hard-left France Unbowed party have described the proposal as overly simplistic and a form of digital paternalism. Several child protection associations have also urged lawmakers to focus on holding technology companies accountable, rather than excluding children entirely from social media spaces.
Some political figures remain cautious. Former prime minister Elisabeth Borne noted that enforcing such bans is complex and stressed the need to ensure existing restrictions in middle schools are properly applied before expanding them further.
At its core, the debate reflects a broader question facing modern societies: how to balance the benefits of digital connection with the responsibility to protect children’s wellbeing. As France moves closer to a decision, families, educators, and young people themselves are watching closely, aware that this law could reshape daily life for an entire generation.
