France bans social media for children under 15

France's National Assembly has approved a bill that bans social media use for children under 15, a move championed by President Emmanuel Macron. The legislation also prohibits mobile phone use in high schools, extending a ban already in place for younger students.

The bill's passage in the National Assembly marks its final adoption after the Senate approved a slightly different version. A compromise version was then agreed upon by both chambers. The ban for new accounts will take effect on September 1, with a four-month transitional period until January 1, 2027, for existing accounts, which will be gradually closed.

France becomes the first EU country to implement such age restrictions. While platforms like YouTube and WhatsApp will still be accessible, services functioning as social networks will require age verification for features like content sharing and comments. Online encyclopedias and educational digital projects are exempt from the ban.

The law does not specify how platforms should verify users' ages, leaving it to the services to implement their own systems. No sanctions are imposed on minors or their parents. The legislation also extends the ban on mobile phones in schools to high schools, though schools may introduce exceptions in their regulations.

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Now the Constitutional Council should speak, and then action will follow to specify the rules and protect our children online.