France Top Court Blocks Social Media Ban for Under-15s

France’s Constitutional Council struck down the country’s flagship social media ban on Friday, declaring that a blanket prohibition on minors under 15 accessing platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook was unconstitutional because it infringed freedom of expression and forced every adult user to prove their age without legal safeguards.

The Ruling

The Conseil constitutionnel, France’s highest constitutional authority, issued Decision No. 2026-911 DC on August 13, 2026, ruling that Article 1 of the “Law aimed at protecting minors from the risks posed by the use of social networks” was contrary to the Constitution. The decision was made public on Friday, August 14.

The nine-member panel, chaired by Richard Ferrand, found that the ban failed two constitutional tests.

1. Disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression

The council cited Article 11 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man, which enshrines free communication of thought and opinion. In the digital age, this right implies freedom to access online communication services. While the legislature may restrict expression to prevent abuse, such restrictions must be “necessary, appropriate, and proportionate.”

The council ruled that the ban was none of these:

“The prohibition established does not give rise to any particular assessment of the risk to the minor, taking into account in particular his age, his degree of maturity, his family situation as well as the nature of the service concerned.”

A 14-year-old on an educational forum and a 14-year-old on an addictive algorithmic feed were treated identically under the law. The council found this overbroad.

2. Failure to regulate age verification

The second, equally fatal flaw: by banning access for all under-15s, the law inevitably required every user – including adults – to prove their age before accessing social media. But the legislature provided no framework for how this verification would work, who would be responsible, or what limits would apply to the sensitive personal data collected.

“By failing to specify the conditions and limits under which such proof must be provided, the legislature has not established the legal safeguards necessary to ensure compliance with these requirements.”

The council did not rule on the remaining provisions of the law, including the ban on mobile phones in high schools, which remain legally intact.

What France Was Trying to Do

The legislation, championed by President Emmanuel Macron as a flagship reform of his final term, had cleared both chambers of parliament with strong majorities.

The law would have banned social media accounts for anyone under 15 starting September 1, 2026, required platforms to close existing minor accounts by January 1, 2027, prohibited mobile phone use in high schools, and imposed no penalties on children or parents – enforcement rested entirely on platforms.

France would have been the first EU country to impose such a ban, following Australia’s world-first under-16 ban implemented in December 2025.

The Data Behind the Push

The legislation was driven by mounting evidence of social media’s impact on adolescent mental health.

European Data (WHO HBSC Study 2022): Problematic social media use among European adolescents rose from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022, based on the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale across 44 countries and 280,000 young people aged 11, 13, and 15.

US Data (CDC/NCHS 2025): Teens logging 4+ hours daily on screens had 2.07x odds of anxiety and 2.39x odds of depression compared to less-exposed peers. Approximately 50% of US teens now log at least 4 hours of screen time daily.

UK Data (Imperial College London SCAMP Study, March 2026): Children who used social media for more than 3 hours daily at age 11-12 were more likely to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety by ages 13-15. The effect was stronger in girls and largely driven by sleep disruption from evening social media use.

French Public Opinion (IPSOS, August 2025): 85% of French adults support banning social media for children under 14 – one of the highest support rates among 30 countries surveyed (global average: 71%).

France’s Public Health Watchdog (ANSES): Found that TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram were “detrimental to adolescents, particularly girls,” citing risks including cyberbullying, exposure to violent content, and disrupted sleep.

The Global Context: Who’s Banning What

France’s failed ban was part of a growing international movement.

Australia’s results offer a cautionary tale. Despite removing 4.7 million accounts by January 2026 (including 2M Instagram/Facebook accounts with 99% compliance rate), approximately 70% of Australian under-16s were still accessing social media according to parental reports. The eSafety Commissioner launched formal investigations into Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube in March 2026, finding that platforms failed to prompt users for fresh age checks and allowed children to repeat verification tests until they got an over-16 result.

Reddit has also challenged the Australian ban in the High Court, arguing it violates constitutional rights to freedom of expression – a legal argument remarkably similar to the one that succeeded in France.

What Happens Next

President Macron immediately responded to the ruling by ordering Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to rework the legislation to address the Constitutional Council’s concerns. The Elysee said Macron was “determined the reform take effect before Spring 2027,” when France holds its presidential election. Macron cannot run for a third term.

To survive a second constitutional review, a revised bill would likely need to introduce tiered restrictions rather than a blanket ban, distinguishing between high-risk platforms with algorithmic feeds and lower-risk services like messaging apps and educational platforms. It would also need to define age verification standards, specify acceptable methods, assign responsibility, and establish data protection safeguards.

The EU itself may render the national debate moot. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in May 2026 that an EU-wide ban could come “as soon as this summer,” depending on the results of an expert panel on online child safety. A unified EU approach would apply through the Digital Services Act, which can fine platforms up to 6% of global turnover.

The Core Tension

The French ruling exposes the fundamental dilemma at the heart of every social media ban: protecting children requires surveillance of everyone.

To verify that a user is over 15, platforms must verify that every user is not under 15. That means age checks for adults too – a mass collection of biometric data, government IDs, or behavioral profiling on a scale never before attempted in peacetime Europe.

The Constitutional Council’s decision does not say children should not be protected from harmful content. It says the legislature cannot protect them by imposing a blanket ban without answering the hard questions: How will you check? Whose data will you collect? Who will guard it? What happens when it leaks?

France has eight months to find those answers – or watch the EU decide for it.

Sources: Conseil constitutionnel Decision No. 2026-911 DC; France 24; CNN; Reuters; RTE; WHO HBSC Study 2022; Imperial College London SCAMP Study; CDC/NCHS Data Brief No. 527; IPSOS Education Monitor 2025; ANSES; eSafety Commissioner (Australia); European Commission.