French Parliament's committee approves social media ban for under-15s
A reconciliation committee of France's Parliament agreed on a bill on Monday to ban access to social media for those under 15 years of age.
Two boys hold an iPhone while playing Roblox. Photo illustration by Getty Images.
- France is moving toward a ban on social media access for children under 15 by early September.
- President Emmanuel Macron backs the plan, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen supports similar EU limits.
- Platforms would need age-verification systems approved by France’s privacy regulator, and officials would list covered social networks.
- The bill also would ban smartphones in high schools, expanding France’s effort to limit children’s digital access.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants the ban to be in force by the start of the school year in early September.
France would follow Australia, which enacted the world's first ban for under-16s on platforms including Meta Platforms' Facebook, Snap's Snapchat, Bytedance's TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube in December.
Macron has drummed up support for the ban in the European Union and elsewhere. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has recently supported limiting children's access to social media in the 27-country bloc.
The reconciled text will be discussed on Tuesday in the Lower House and later in the Senate.
The Information Technology minister will establish a list of the social networks banned for children and teenagers younger than 15 years old.
Social media platforms will have to set up systems of age verification approved by the French privacy regulator.
The bill would also ban the use of smartphones in high schools.
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