The National Assembly of France approved a bill that bans access to social media for minors under 15 in response to growing concern about the impact of excessive screen use on the mental health and development of children and adolescents.
The initiative, driven by President Emmanuel Macron, was adopted by a broad parliamentary majority and must now be examined by the Senate before it enters into force.
The French president welcomed the vote as a "major step" for the protection of youth, stating that minors' emotions must not be "sold or manipulated" by the algorithms of major digital platforms.
Macron believes that social media contribute to the rise in youth violence, the deterioration of psychological well-being, and the loss of intellectual autonomy among young people.
If it is definitively approved, France would become the second country in the world to impose a general ban of this kind, after Australia, which in December implemented a similar ban for minors under 16. The French government aims for the measure to enter into force at the start of the 2026 school year, with a progressive timetable for its implementation.
The legislative text stipulates that minors under 15 will not be allowed to access social media platforms or social interaction features integrated into other digital services.
