France's top court has struck down a national ban on social media for children under the age of 15, ruling that the proposed legislation infringed upon freedom of expression. The Constitutional Council's decision on Friday overrides a law backed by French lawmakers in July, which would have made France the first European country to block young people from social media platforms.
The legislation, championed by President Emmanuel Macron, was designed to address growing concerns over the potential harmful effects of social media on children's mental health. President Macron had previously pledged that the ban would be introduced in stages, beginning in September.
Following the Constitutional Council's ruling, President Macron's office confirmed that he immediately requested Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to prepare a new draft bill. This revised proposal is expected to incorporate the points raised by the council, with a determination to see the reform implemented by early 2027.
Prime Minister Lecornu had himself referred parts of the original legislation to the Constitutional Council for review after it was voted through last month. The council, a nine-member authority responsible for ensuring laws comply with the French constitution, scrutinised the bill's provisions.
In its judgment, the Constitutional Council stated that Article 1 of the legislation constituted "an infringement that is neither appropriate, necessary, nor proportionate" to the freedom of expression and communication for individuals under 15. The ruling also highlighted concerns regarding the law's requirement for age verification to access online services, noting that it failed to establish "the legal safeguards necessary."
The original legislation had envisioned a phased implementation: from September, individuals under 15 would have been prevented from opening new social media accounts, with mandatory age verification for all new sign-ups. From January, these restrictions would have extended to all existing accounts held by under-15s.
Opponents of the ban had consistently questioned its viability, raising a number of practical and ethical concerns. These included issues surrounding privacy, the effectiveness of age-verification tools, the potential for young people to bypass such measures, and the speed at which the ban had been conceptualised and introduced.
The French legislative effort is part of a broader European trend to regulate young people's access to social media. In May, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested a "social media delay" for children across the European Union, indicating that new legislation could be forthcoming within months. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, former Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer announced in June a proposal to ban under-16s from social media from January 2027. This UK proposal also included an optional midnight curfew for teenagers aged 16 and 17.
Internationally, Australia implemented a social media ban for those under 16 in December of the previous year. However, it is widely acknowledged that many young people in Australia continue to use the platforms despite the prohibition, underscoring the challenges of enforcing such restrictions.
President Macron's office reiterated its commitment to the reform, stating that the French government would work "as quickly as possible" to propose a new draft bill, aiming to enact the changes by early 2027. The council's decision means that the immediate implementation of the ban will not proceed as initially planned.
