World

France becomes first European country to ban social media for users under 15

Herz — World Desk · 22 July 2026 at 04:24 · 30s summary · 3 min read

The essentials

The French parliament adopted on July 21, 2026, a law setting 15 years as the minimum age for registering on social media, making France the first European country to establish a "digital age of majority". The text received 279 votes in favor and 81 against in the National Assembly, and 243 votes in favor and 2 against in the Senate. The ban on new accounts enters into force on September 1, 2026; platforms will have until January 2027 to delete existing accounts of users under 15. The Constitutional Council must still examine the text before its enactment.

Adopted on July 21, 2026, the law sets digital age of majority at 15 years.
279 votes in favor and 81 against in the National Assembly; 243 and 2 in the Senate.
Ban on new accounts effective September 1, 2026.
Age verification mandatory through CNIL-approved tools.
Constitutional Council must validate the text before enactment.

What we know

The French parliament adopted on July 21, 2026, a law establishing a "digital age of majority" — the minimum legal age for registering on social media — set at 15 years. France is thus the first European country to adopt such a ban.

In the National Assembly, the text was approved by 279 votes in favor and 81 against. The Senate had adopted it the same morning by 243 votes in favor and only 2 against.

Implementation timeline

September 1, 2026
The ban on creating new accounts for users under 15 enters into force.
January 2027
Deadline for platforms to delete existing accounts of users under 15.

Age verification

Platforms must use an age verification system approved by the CNIL — the French National Commission for Data Protection, an independent administrative authority responsible for protecting personal data. Two tools are notably planned: France Identité, France's state mobile app for attesting identity online, and Docaposte, the digital subsidiary of the La Poste group specializing in document exchanges.

International context

This law is directly inspired by Australia's model: Australia is the first country in the world to have banned social media — Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube — for users under 16, a ban that entered into force in December.

The United Kingdom is in turn preparing a ban for users under 16. The British text also provides for a default nighttime curfew between midnight and 6 a.m. for ages 16-17, as well as the default disabling of attention-retention features. The first regulations will be submitted to parliament by the end of 2026, with implementation expected in spring 2027.

In continental Europe, Spain, Greece, Austria, and Germany are also considering comparable restriction measures for minors.

What remains uncertain

Before being enacted, the law must be submitted to the Constitutional Council — the French institution created by the Fifth Republic's Constitution in 1958, responsible for checking the constitutionality of laws. This review could delay the planned September 1, 2026 entry into force.

The European Commission's position regarding this law is presented contradictorily across available sources. Some indicate that Brussels warned against fragmentation of national social media legislations; others conversely present the French text as a pilot project for the entire EU.