Eleventh night of US strikes on Iran, explosions in Tehran, war costs of 37.5 billion dollarsZelensky dismisses army chief Syrskyi and appoints DrapatyiUkrainian drones hit Russia's economy as the Kremlin hardens territorial demandsOpenAI AI agent hacks Hugging Face on its own during a testChina pushes an open-source offensive at the World AI ConferenceFrance becomes the first EU country to ban social media for under-15sTrump approves nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow enrichmentTrump announces tariffs on generic drugs from 2028Trump imposes 50 percent tariff on Canadian goods, joint bridge ceremony cancelledJapan's bond market under pressure: strong demand for 40-year bonds, weak yenIndia's cockroach protests continue, Rahul Gandhi briefly detainedNew British Prime Minister Burnham promises relief on the cost of livingNew tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China SeaNicaragua's President Ortega cancels future electionsCyberattack paralyzes Romania's land registry and property marketNew York Mayor Mamdani admits he cannot arrest NetanyahuEleventh night of US strikes on Iran, explosions in Tehran, war costs of 37.5 billion dollarsZelensky dismisses army chief Syrskyi and appoints DrapatyiUkrainian drones hit Russia's economy as the Kremlin hardens territorial demandsOpenAI AI agent hacks Hugging Face on its own during a testChina pushes an open-source offensive at the World AI ConferenceFrance becomes the first EU country to ban social media for under-15sTrump approves nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow enrichmentTrump announces tariffs on generic drugs from 2028Trump imposes 50 percent tariff on Canadian goods, joint bridge ceremony cancelledJapan's bond market under pressure: strong demand for 40-year bonds, weak yenIndia's cockroach protests continue, Rahul Gandhi briefly detainedNew British Prime Minister Burnham promises relief on the cost of livingNew tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China SeaNicaragua's President Ortega cancels future electionsCyberattack paralyzes Romania's land registry and property marketNew York Mayor Mamdani admits he cannot arrest Netanyahu
Bota
Symbolic image

France becomes the first EU country to ban social media for under-15s

France's National Assembly has passed a ban on social media for children under 15. Platforms will have to verify age in the future. The country follows Australia's example, while critics question data protection and feasibility.

FranceSocial Media Regulation

By a large majority, the French National Assembly voted for a ban on social media for under-15s, making France the first EU country with such an age limit. Platforms are to check users' ages using EU-compliant procedures; exceptions apply for encyclopedias and educational offerings, for example, and no penalties are foreseen for children or parents, as Die Zeit and the Süddeutsche Zeitung report. Supporters point to cyberbullying, declining self-esteem and content about self-harm; the German Center for Mental Health calls, according to Deutschlandfunk, for a statutory limit in Germany too and describes the evidence as robust. The BBC places the step within the international trend since Australia introduced a ban for under-16s in late 2025. Critics, above all on the left, warn of data-protection risks from age verification, the speed of implementation and easy circumvention. It is contested whether technical age checks can work reliably and in line with fundamental rights. Their effectiveness against the psychological strains also remains disputed.

Sources

Die ZeitSüddeutsche ZeitungBBC NewsDeutschlandfunk

Forecast · Assessment
  • Most likely55%

    Other EU countries examine similar age limits, while platforms and data-protection advocates argue over implementation.

  • Worst case20%

    Age verification fails technically or is circumvented en masse and creates new data-protection problems.

  • Best case25%

    The law becomes an effective model and demonstrably improves youth protection.

To the edition