Top French court scraps social media ban for children under 15

Parliament adopted the legislation on 21 July by 279 votes to 81 as part of an effort to protect the health and safety of children and teenagers from risks linked to social media use.

The restrictions would have applied to social media platforms including TikTok and Instagram. Under-15s would have been prevented from creating new accounts from September, while those with existing accounts would have seen them closed from 1 January 2027.

President Emmanuel Macron described the ban as a "major step forward" after parliament approved it in July, adding that France was "leading the way".

But lawmakers from the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party referred the legislation to France's highest constitutional authority last month, triggering the review.

France approves social media ban for children under 15, in EU first

Constitutional objections

The measure "places a disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression and communication", the Constitutional Council said in a statement published on Friday.

The ban could apply to online communication services "for which risks to the health and safety of minors have not been established", the judges said, adding the legislation failed to take account of "the age, family situation or degree of maturity" of individual children.

Parents were not given the possibility, "in the child's interest", to decide whether to lift the ban, limit its scope or authorise access to certain services, the court said.

Exemptions from the ban were limited to participatory encyclopaedias such as Wikipedia, open-source websites and educational or university sites, according to the judges' reasoning.

EU warns France under-15 social media bill could breach European law

Privacy concerns

The Constitutional Council found the law also infringed the right to privacy.

By banning access to certain online services for all children under 15, the legislation would have required anyone seeking access to prove their age, including adults, the judges said.

"Failing to determine the conditions and limits under which this must be justified, the legislature has not provided the legal guarantees needed to ensure compliance with these constitutional requirements."

The Constitutional Council reviewed only the article banning social media for under-15s. It did not rule on a separate provision in the same law that would ban mobile phones in French high schools from 1 September.

(with newswires)