What is the story about?
As Australia upholds a ban on social media for teens, French lawmakers have passed a bill that would prohibit children under the age of 15 from using social media, a move championed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to protect children from excessive screen time.
The lower house of the French National Assembly has passed the text by a vote of 130 to 21 in a lengthy overnight session from Monday to Tuesday. The bill will now go to the Senate, France's upper house, before becoming a law.
Macron hailed the vote as a "major step" to protect French children and teenagers in a post on X.
The bill also includes a ban on the use of mobile phones in school. With this, France has become the second country to take such a step, following Australia's social media ban on under-16s in 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.
When passed, measures under the new law would be enforced 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 hoped the Senate would pass the bill by mid-February so that the ban could come into force on September 1.
He added that "social media platforms will then have until December 31 to deactivate existing accounts" that do not comply with the age limit.
In addition to combating the impact of screens and social media on the mental health of young adolescents, Attal stressed that the measure would counter "a number of powers that, through social media platforms, want to colonise minds".
"France can be a pioneer in Europe in a month: we can change the lives of our young people and our families, and perhaps also change the destiny of our country in terms of independence," he said.
Meanwhile, Europe is working on an age verification system that would be applied to France's social media ban. The draft bill excludes online encyclopedias and educational platforms.
The European Parliament has called for a region-wide prohibition on social media use for anyone younger than 16. The proposal marks one of the bloc’s strongest stances yet on safeguarding minors online, adding new urgency to a debate that has intensified alongside reports linking heavy social media use to anxiety, depression, and cyberbullying among young teens.
Macron has previously called for EU regulation to ban social media for children under 15, although it is not quite clear how the EU would carry this out, given that it is up to individual EU members to impose age limits.
Parliament’s resolution, backed by 483 votes to 92, with 86 abstentions, called for an EU-wide ban on access for children under 16 to online platforms, video-sharing sites and AI companions without parental consent and an outright ban for those younger than 13.
With inputs from agencies
The lower house of the French National Assembly has passed the text by a vote of 130 to 21 in a lengthy overnight session from Monday to Tuesday. The bill will now go to the Senate, France's upper house, before becoming a law.
Macron hailed the vote as a "major step" to protect French children and teenagers in a post on X.
Interdire les réseaux sociaux aux moins de 15 ans : c’est ce que préconisent les scientifiques, c’est ce que demandent massivement les Français.
Après un travail fructueux avec le Gouvernement, l’Assemblée nationale vient de dire oui.
C’est une étape majeure.…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 26, 2026
The bill also includes a ban on the use of mobile phones in school. With this, France has become the second country to take such a step, following Australia's social media ban on under-16s in 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.
How would the ban work?
When passed, measures under the new law would be enforced 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 hoped the Senate would pass the bill by mid-February so that the ban could come into force on September 1.
He added that "social media platforms will then have until December 31 to deactivate existing accounts" that do not comply with the age limit.
In addition to combating the impact of screens and social media on the mental health of young adolescents, Attal stressed that the measure would counter "a number of powers that, through social media platforms, want to colonise minds".
"France can be a pioneer in Europe in a month: we can change the lives of our young people and our families, and perhaps also change the destiny of our country in terms of independence," he said.
Meanwhile, Europe is working on an age verification system that would be applied to France's social media ban. The draft bill excludes online encyclopedias and educational platforms.
EU pushes for stricter age restrictions
The European Parliament has called for a region-wide prohibition on social media use for anyone younger than 16. The proposal marks one of the bloc’s strongest stances yet on safeguarding minors online, adding new urgency to a debate that has intensified alongside reports linking heavy social media use to anxiety, depression, and cyberbullying among young teens.
Macron has previously called for EU regulation to ban social media for children under 15, although it is not quite clear how the EU would carry this out, given that it is up to individual EU members to impose age limits.
Parliament’s resolution, backed by 483 votes to 92, with 86 abstentions, called for an EU-wide ban on access for children under 16 to online platforms, video-sharing sites and AI companions without parental consent and an outright ban for those younger than 13.
With inputs from agencies
