The timeline set by the Élysée Palace was met by the skin of its teeth. On the very last day allowed, the National Assembly and the Senate approved the law banning children under 15 from accessing major social media platforms: 279 votes in favor and 81 against—a cross-party consensus that has been quite rare in French politics in recent years. France thus becomes the first European country—and the second in the world, after Australia—to introduce such a blanket ban. President Emmanuel Macron, who was the measure’s main sponsor, called it a matter of civilization.
Two dates and a four-month transition period
The law will take effect in two phases. Starting September 1—the first day of school—no one under the age of 15 will be able to open a new account on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, or X: age verification will be required at the time of registration. For existing accounts, there will be a four-month transition period, after which—starting January 1, 2027— accounts belonging to users who are too young must be closed. Certain educational and scientific platforms are exempt from the ban. The same legislation extends the ban on cell phone use to high schools; until now, this ban had applied only to middle schools and was not always enforced.
The Reasons Behind the Tightening
This is based on an investigation that lasted for years: in January, the National Health Security Agency released a report of over 500 pages on the effects of intensive use of these platforms on young people. The point raised by the experts is always the same: algorithms are designed to hold users’ attention for as long as possible, and for very young people, this means greater exposure to cyberbullying and violent content. In the chamber, the rapporteur cited attention fragmentation, the impact on memory and reading, and the worsening of eating disorders.
Who is responsible for verifying age?
The government maintains that the tools already exist and that the responsibility for verification will fall on the platforms, which will be required to offer at least two alternative systems. This refers to services such as France Identité, the public digital identity system that is not too different from our SPID. How it will actually work, however, remains to be seen in September.
The second issue is more delicate: Paris cannot directly sanction TikTok, Instagram, or Snapchat. Following discussions with the Commission, the text was amended to remove provisions that would have granted new powers to Arcom, the French audiovisual and digital authority, as these were deemed redundant in light of the European Digital Services Act. France is still responsible for reporting violations, while Brussels is responsible for taking action: fines of up to 6% of annual global revenue, orders to make technical changes, and enhanced monitoring. For young people who circumvent the ban, however, no penalties are provided for.
The Criticisms
Opposition to the bill is far from marginal. Members of *France Insoumise* voted against it, deeming the law a threat to civil liberties and, at the same time, easy to circumvent. On the other side of the political spectrum came a scathing critique from Xavier Niel, founder of Iliad and considered close to Macron: on X, he branded the law as idiotic, because teenagers already know all the workarounds to bypass the filters.
The precedent comes from Australia, where a similar law has been in effect since December; Malaysia has followed suit. Now the French experiment is serving as a European test case, closely watched in Italy as well. Macron is aiming to build a coalition of the willing on the protection of minors—an issue that has already been raised at the G7 summit in Evian—while Ursula von der Leyen has announced that the Commission will present proposals for a common framework after the summer. The French case will not remain an isolated one for long.
