France moves to ban under-15s from social media amid mental health concerns

France’s lower house of parliament has voted to ban children under the age of 15 from using social media, reflecting growing anxiety over online bullying, screen addiction and the mental health of young people.

Late on Monday, lawmakers in the National Assembly approved the bill by a margin of 130 to 21. The legislation now moves to the Senate and will require a final vote in the lower chamber before becoming law.

President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the vote, calling it a “major step” toward protecting children and teenagers. He has previously linked social media use to rising violence among young people, echoing broader public concern about the digital environment children are growing up in.

“The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, either by American platforms or Chinese algorithms,” Macron said in a video broadcast on Saturday.

Macron said he wants the ban to take effect by the start of the next academic year in September.

Centrist lawmaker Laure Miller, who introduced the bill, told parliament the law was about drawing a clear social line around technology often treated as benign.

“Our children are reading less, sleeping less, and comparing themselves to one another more,” she said. “This is a battle for free minds.”

Former prime minister Gabriel Attal, now leader of Macron’s Renaissance party in the lower house, said platforms would be required to deactivate existing accounts that do not meet the age requirement by December 31.

Under the proposal, social media companies would be required to block access for younger teenagers using age-verification systems compliant with European Union law.

Support for the bill cut across party lines. Far-right lawmaker Thierry Perez described the measure as a response to a “health emergency”.

“Social media has allowed everyone to express themselves, but at what cost to our children?” Perez said.

France is not acting in isolation. Australia became the first country to impose a social media ban for children under 16 in December, covering platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. The United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain and Greece are also considering similar restrictions.

At the EU level, the European Parliament has called for minimum age requirements for social media access, though enforcement remains the responsibility of individual member states.

Implementation, however, remains a challenge. Australian authorities have acknowledged that enforcing their ban has been uneven, with underage users openly testing the system. French lawmakers face similar questions about how effectively platforms can verify age without raising privacy concerns.

The French bill also extends an existing ban on smartphones in junior and middle schools to include high schools, signalling a broader attempt to reduce screen exposure in educational settings.

Public opinion appears to be firmly behind the move. A Harris Interactive survey conducted in 2024 found that 73 percent of French respondents supported banning social media access for children under 15.