French lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill that would ban social media for children under the age of 15 in an effort to safeguard youth mental health, eradicate cyberbullying, and prevent extreme screen addiction.
Backed by overwhelming support, the bill will also prevent kids from accessing and possessing cell phones in school. For a bill to pass, it needs to be proposed by either the prime minister or members of Parliament before being passed on to a parliamentary committee. This committee can either be the National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) or the Senate, in any case the first committee discussed and approves the bill before passing it on to the other committee for approval, who can return it back for revision or approve it.
Once both committees unanimously approve the elements of the bill, such as its wording and provisions, then it will be adopted. However the passage of this bill was not ordinary and it had to follow a few extra steps. Because social media platforms are already regulated by the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), French lawmakers had to notify the European Union to ensure that there were no conflicts with their bill. Since the DSA provides a fully harmonized framework for online platforms across the bloc, individual member states are legally bound to ensure that their internal legislation does not fragment the Digital Single Market.
Additionally, the National Assembly and Senate found it difficult to agree on the restrictions that such a blanket ban will impose on young users. While the the National Assembly wanted a general media ban for anyone under 15, the Senate wanted targeted bans where certain socials could be available with parental permission. The Senators justified their arguments by stating that the implementation of a two-tiered system ran a smaller risk of running afoul of EU rules.
A specialized parliamentary committee debated for almost 4 months to come up with a unified draft in which social media bans were in effect for children under 15 years of age. The landmark initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron’s was heavily supported by French parents, coming after a fatal school stabbing in France. The stabbing triggered an investigative parliamentary committee into the negative effects of social media on youth.
During the bill’s creation, lawmakers cited private lawsuits against TikTok for harmful content exposure to teenagers leading to addiction, depression and anxiety. These lawsuits fueled the political momentum behind Macron’s new child-protection bill. Macron hopes to promulgate the law effective September 1st 2026, right before the school year, but a constitutional review needs to take place before that can happen.
The primary constitutional arguments made in relation to this matter center upon the possible infringement of fundamental civil liberties, the right to privacy, and the legal definition of minors’ digital rights.
This landmark law makes France the first European country to effectively adopt a blanket ban, with other countries such Spain and the UK following suit, both announcing their plans to enforce similar bans by 2027.
