The French parliament has approved a bill that would ban children under the age of 15 from using social media. In particular, it concerns the social networks TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
This is reported by The Guardian.
The bill was voted for by 279 deputies, against 81. It was also previously supported by the Senate. Starting September 1, children under 15 will be prohibited from creating new accounts on social networks, and from January 2027, the restrictions will also apply to existing accounts.
The platforms themselves are responsible for verifying usersʼ ages. According to French Digital Minister Anne Le Henand, all users in France will have to verify their age within the first four months, and accounts of children under 15 will be closed.
The law still needs to be reviewed by the French Constitutional Council. It also needs to be agreed at EU level before it can come into force. There will also be a transition period needed to implement age verification mechanisms.
At the same time, the law provides exceptions for online encyclopedias and educational platforms. It also does not establish fines or other penalties for children or their parents.
- France and other countries have been discussing such a ban for several years. In January, the countryʼs lower house of parliament already supported the bill. In general, the first country in the world to introduce a ban on the use of social networks for children under 16 years of age was Australia, in December 2025.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.