France’s Constitutional Council has blocked a landmark law that would have made the country the first in the European Union to ban children under 15 from accessing social media platforms, ruling the measure violated constitutional protections for freedom of expression.
The ruling, reported by AP News on Friday, strikes down legislation that President Emmanuel Macron’s government had championed as a necessary step to protect children online. The law had passed through parliament with broad support and was widely watched across Europe as a potential model for youth digital safety regulation.
Planned Two-Stage Rollout
The legislation would have been implemented in two phases. Starting September 1, under-15s would have been blocked from creating new social media accounts. From January 2027, the ban would have extended to existing accounts, requiring platforms to close profiles of users identified as minors.
Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff had said before the parliamentary vote that the timeline was realistic because age-verification tools already existed, and the responsibility would fall on platforms to enforce the rule. Users would have needed to prove their age, and accounts belonging to anyone under 15 would have been shut down.
“For four months, all of us in France will have to prove our age. If someone is under 15, the account will be closed.” – Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff, before the ruling
The minister had also given assurances that users’ personal data would be protected under the verification process.
Constitutional Concerns
The Constitutional Council’s decision centers on the balance between child protection and fundamental rights. French constitutional law provides strong protections for freedom of expression and communication, and the council determined that a blanket ban on social media access for an entire age group crossed the line from proportionate regulation into an infringement of those rights.
The ruling does not prevent France from pursuing alternative approaches to youth online safety. Lawmakers could pursue narrower restrictions targeting specific types of content or platforms, or implement age-verification requirements that do not constitute an outright ban on access.
The decision comes at a time when multiple European countries are grappling with how to protect children online while respecting digital rights. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had recently called for children to have “phased and gradual access” to social media, a more moderate approach than France’s proposed blanket ban.
Sources: AP News; The Guardian; Daily Citizen
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