Symbolic imageFrance's top court strikes down social media ban for under-15s
France's Constitutional Council struck down the ban on social media for under-15s on Friday, citing freedom of expression and privacy. It is a setback for Macron, who championed it.
Parliament passed the law on Tuesday, 21 July, and Socialist and La France insoumise deputies referred its first article to the Council. From 1 September it would have stopped under-15s opening accounts and required platforms to close existing ones within four months, using age checks approved by France's privacy regulator. The judges found the ban applied to all networks and all under-15s alike, including services whose risks to minors are not established, and left parents no say. Adults too would have had to prove their age, with no conditions or limits set for such checks.
Macron orders a new draft
The Élysée said Macron has tasked prime minister Sébastien Lecornu with a legally robust text taking account of the ruling and of EU law, before the spring 2027 presidential election, at which he cannot stand.
Bans spread elsewhere
Australia barred under-16s from leading platforms last December, Indonesia and Malaysia restrict certain platforms, and the UK plans to block leading apps next year.
Other opinions
Bloomberg and the New York Times frame the ruling above all as a defeat for Macron; Russia's state agency TASS instead details the 23-paragraph reasoning and the digital curfew for 15- to 18-year-olds in the law.