France aims to follow Australia's example and ban social networking platforms for children starting from the 2026 school year.
A draft law banning the use of social networks by persons under the age of 15 will be submitted for legal verification and is expected to be discussed in parliament early in the new year, reports The Guardian.
French President Emmanuel Macron has made it clear in recent weeks that he wants France to quickly follow Australia's world-first ban on social media for minors under 16, which came into effect in December. The ban includes Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
Le Monde and France Info reported on Wednesday that the draft law was already ready and contained two measures: a ban on social networks for under-15s and a ban on mobile phones in secondary schools, where students aged 15 to 18 study. Phones have already been banned in primary and lower secondary schools.
The bill will be submitted to France's Council of State (Conseil d'État) for legal review in the coming days. Education unions will also be examining the proposed ban on phones in secondary schools.
The government aims for the ban on social media to take effect from September 2026.
Le Monde reported that the text of the bill mentions “the dangers of excessive screen use by adolescents,” including the risks of exposure to inappropriate content on social networks, online bullying, and sleep disruption. The bill emphasizes the need to “protect future generations” from risks that threaten their ability to thrive and live together in a society with shared values.
Earlier this month, Macron confirmed during a public debate in Saint-Malo that he wanted a ban on social media for young teenagers. He said a “consensus” was forming on the issue following Australia’s ban. “The more screen time, the more school achievement drops… the more screen time, the more mental health problems increase,” he said.
He used the analogy of a teenager getting into a Formula 1 car before learning to drive. “If a kid is in a Formula 1 car and starts the engine, I don’t want him to win the race, I just want him to get out of the car. I want him to learn the rules of the road first, make sure the car works, and then teach him to drive another car.”
Several other countries are considering social media bans for under-15s following Australia's decision, including Denmark, whose government hopes to impose a ban in 2026, as well as Norway.
Anne Le Hénanff, the French minister responsible for digital development and artificial intelligence, told Le Parisien newspaper this month that banning social media for under-15s was a government priority and that the bill would be “short and in line with European law,” specifically the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) – a regulation aimed at combating hate speech, misinformation and disinformation.
The social media ban is part of Macron's bid to shape his political legacy as he enters a difficult final year of his presidency with a divided parliament. On December 23, last-minute legislation was passed to keep the government afloat until January after parliament failed to agree on a full budget for 2026. Efforts to reach a budget deal will resume next month.
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