France Moves to Restrict Social Media Access for Under-15s

Sun Feb 01 2026 09:53:10 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The French National Assembly has proposed a law aimed at banning social media access for children under the age of 15, a move supported by President Emmanuel Macron as part of a broader initiative to protect the mental health of young people.

In a notable development for child safety on the internet, the French National Assembly has initiated a bill that could ban social media access for individuals under 15. This proposal, endorsed by President Macron, aims to tackle the negative impacts of social media on youth mental health, echoing similar actions in countries like Australia. Lawmakers are pushing for expeditious passing of the bill by the forthcoming school year, with key provisions including a list of harmful networks and parental controls for less harmful sites.

France's National Assembly has taken a first step towards banning social media access for under-15s, a proposal backed by President Emmanuel Macron.

Lawmakers in the lower house on Monday agreed key elements of the bill, and are now expected to vote on the full text. The bill still needs to be approved by the upper house, the Senate.

If the legislation is passed, young teenagers would not be able to use networks such as Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok.

The French move is part of a worldwide trend towards restricting social networks for children, triggered by growing evidence of the damage they can cause to mental health. A similar law was passed in Australia late last year.

With this law we will set down a clear limit in society, said Laure Miller, a lawmaker behind the bill, as quoted by Le Monde.

We are saying something very simple: social networks are not harmless, she added.

Macron has said he wants the ban in place by the start of the school year in September.

The bill is believed to have a good chance of passing, with pro-Macron parties likely to be joined by the centre-right Republicans (LR) as well as the populist right-wing National Rally (RN).