France plans to ban children under 15 from social media sites and to prohibit mobile phones in high schools from September 2026. The move will underscore rising public angst over the impact of online harms on minors. President Emmanuel Macron has often pointed to social media as one of the factors to blame for violence among young people and has signaled that he wants France to follow Australia, whose world-first ban for under-16s on social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.
"Many studies
and reports now confirm the various risks caused by excessive use of digital
screens by adolescents," the French draft says. “Children with unfettered
online access were exposed to "inappropriate content" and could
suffer from cyber-harassment or experience changes to their sleep patterns, the
government said.
The draft law has two articles. One would make illegal
"the provision by an online platform of an online social media service to
a minor under 15." The second calls for a ban of mobile phone use in
secondary schools.
Macron has said that the digital protection of minors is a priority for his government, but enforcement and compliance with international law have been issues. A ban on mobile phone use in preschools and middle schools came into force in 2018, but is rarely enforced.
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France will make a fresh attempt to protect children from
excessive screen time, proposing a ban on social media access for children
under 15 by next September, according to a draft law seen by AFP. The
initiative is backed by President Emmanuel Macron, who said earlier this month
that Parliament should start debating such a proposal in January. Australia
this month imposed a social media ban on under 16s, in a world first.
"Many studies and reports now confirm the various risks
caused by excessive use of digital screens by adolescents," the French
draft says. Chidren with unfettered online access were exposed to
"inappropriate content" and could suffer from cyber-harassment or experience
changes to their sleep paterns, the government said.
Read more Subscribers only After French school supervisor
stabbing, questions arise over social media ban for under-15s
The draft law has two articles. One would make illegal
"the provision by an online platform of an online social media service to
a minor under 15." The second calls for a ban of mobile phone use in
secondary schools.
Macron has said that the digital protection of minors is a
priority for his government, but enforcement and compliance with international
law have been issues. An ban on mobile phone use in preschools and middle
schools came into force in 2018, but is rarely enforced.
France meanwhile ran foul of European Union rules with a law
calling for a "digital legal age" of 15, passed in 2023, that has
since been blocked.
The French upper house, the Sénat, this month backed an
initiative for the protection of teenagers from excessive screen time and
social media access, which includes a requirement for parental authorization
for children between 13 and 16 to register with social media sites.
The Sénat's proposal has been submitted to the Assemblée Nationale which would need to approve the text before it can become law.
By Advik Gupta
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