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The law was approved by both chambers of parliament—the National Assembly and the Senate— according to Meduza, citing France24. The bill must now be reviewed by the Constitutional Council, after which it will be signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who spearheaded the reform.
Under the law, starting September 1, 2026, children under the age of 15 will be prohibited from creating new social media accounts. Existing accounts held by users in this age group must be closed within four months—by January 1, 2027.
Social media platforms will be required to verify users’ ages using technologies approved by the French data protection regulator (CNIL). However, the law does not impose fines on minors or their parents—responsibility for complying with the new requirements effectively falls on digital platform operators, who will need to implement reliable age verification mechanisms.
Representatives of major technology companies had previously criticized the idea of a complete ban but stated that they would comply with the law once it takes effect.
France has become the second country in the world, after Australia, to pass a law that significantly restricts children’s access to social media. The Australian ban was approved at the end of 2025.
The European Commission, for its part, intends to assess whether the French law complies with EU legislation. Discussions are also ongoing in Brussels regarding unified approaches to protecting minors online, including mechanisms for verifying users’ ages.
