France Passes Law Banning Social Media for Under-15s from 2027

Key facts

• France has become the first EU country to pass a social media ban for children under 15.
• The law requires parental consent and will be phased in starting September 2026, with full effect in January 2027.
• From September 2026, all social media platforms must block children under 15 from creating new accounts using mandated age-verification controls.
• From January 2027, the restriction extends retrospectively to all existing accounts, requiring platforms to purge or suspend accounts of users under 15.
• Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube must enforce strict age-verification checks approved by France's privacy and data regulator.
• The French digital affairs ministry will establish a list of commercial social networking services covered by the ban, focusing on platforms with highly addictive algorithms.
• The legislation also includes an immediate domestic policy prohibiting smartphone use inside all French high schools.