July 21, 2026 France became the first European Union country to introduce a complete ban on social media for people under 15 years old. The lower house of parliament supported the bill with 279 votes against 81 — after it was approved by the Senate earlier that day.
What exactly the law prohibits
Starting September 1, 2026, children under 15 will not be able to create new accounts on any social media platform. For existing accounts, the ban will take effect four months later — that is, from January 1, 2027. The law does not provide any penalties for the children themselves or their parents.
The law does not apply to online encyclopedias, educational and scientific resources, software development platforms, and digital educational projects.
The law also prohibits the use of mobile phones in secondary schools.
Fines for platforms — and doubts about enforcement
Platforms that violate the law may face fines of up to 6% of their annual revenue. Responsibility for age verification is placed on the companies themselves.
Digital Minister Anne Le Henaf assured that the deadlines are realistic, "because age verification tools already exist," and the obligation to implement them lies with the platforms.
However, critics have already pointed out specific gaps. Lawyer for the child protection organization e-Enfance Inès Legandre warned:
"We will also have to address the issue of existing accounts for people under 15. How to identify them? How to suspend them? And then — the question of age verification for all new accounts"
Inès Legandre, lawyer at e-Enfance
Tech reviewer Jacques Henno pointed out another workaround: using a VPN, a smartphone "won't know" that the user is in France — and the social network simply won't ask for age verification.
One of 20+ countries — but the mechanism has not yet been tested
The left-wing movement "France Unbowed" opposed it, arguing that the law's constitutionality is unclear, it effectively destroys internet anonymity, and is impossible to enforce.
According to French health authorities, every second teenager spends two to five hours a day on a smartphone. 90% of children aged 12 to 17 use smartphones daily to access the internet, 58% — for social media.
By adopting the law, France joined more than 20 countries that have taken measures to regulate children's access to social media. Spain announced restrictions for those under 16, Denmark and Greece presented their own plans, and the United Kingdom said it is also considering banning young teenagers. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called in early July for restrictions on children's use of social media across the EU.
Australia, which in December 2024 became the first country in the world to introduce a similar law for those under 16, is still in court battles with platforms — the Australian law provided for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (~35 million USD) for TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram in case of violations.
If platforms do not implement effective verification by September 1, and the first inspections reveal mass violations — the fines will become a real test of whether a state can force multinational corporations to comply with national law without coordination at the EU level.
