Social media is about to come with an age check for everyone in France, not only children.
French lawmakers approved a nationwide ban Tuesday that will prevent children younger than 15 from using social media.
New accounts will face age verification beginning in September, while platforms will have until January 2027 to identify and close existing accounts belonging to younger users. The measure makes France the first European Union country to approve such a broad restriction.
The law puts more responsibility on technology companies to protect children, but it also raises a difficult question for French users: how can platforms verify everyone’s age without collecting more personal information than they need?
The ban rolls out in two stages
Reuters reported that both the Senate and National Assembly approved the measure. Social media companies will need to use age-verification systems approved by France’s privacy regulator.
“France opens the way by being the first country in Europe to adopt a digital majority,” Anne Le Hénanff, France’s junior minister for AI, told senators, according to Reuters.
The first stage begins September 1, when children under 15 will no longer be allowed to open new accounts. Platforms will then have four months to identify and close existing accounts held by younger users.
The legislation also bans mobile phones in French high schools. Online encyclopedias and educational or scientific directories will remain exempt, according to The Associated Press.
President Emmanuel Macron wants the rules in place for the start of the new school year. A possible review by France’s Constitutional Council could delay the rollout, while the European Commission will assess whether the measure complies with the EU’s Digital Services Act.
“France is leading the way in Europe in protecting our children and our teenagers. We will keep on going,” Macron said, according to AP.
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Age checks create privacy tradeoffs
Every social media user in France may eventually need to prove they are at least 15, including adults who have held accounts for years.
Platforms will need systems for checking ages, handling failed verifications, suspending accounts, and managing appeals. Privacy advocates have questioned how much personal information these tools will collect and whether the checks can work without weakening online anonymity.
France’s privacy regulator will approve the verification tools, but important implementation details remain unclear, including what information users will need to provide.
Enforcement remains the biggest test
Australia’s under-16 social media ban shows how difficult enforcement can be. Seven in 10 Australian children who had accounts before the ban retained some access, the BBC said, citing the country’s eSafety Commission.
Young people may still find ways around the checks or move to smaller, less-regulated online communities. Wider verification requirements could also reduce anonymity and require adults to share additional information before using social platforms.
For French parents, the law shifts more responsibility from household monitoring to the platforms themselves. Schools will also need to explain how the social media restrictions interact with the separate phone ban.
Technology companies now face a tight deadline to build compliant systems while protecting user data. France’s rollout could determine whether similar age restrictions spread across Europe or whether privacy and enforcement problems slow the region’s push for tougher rules.
Read more about how the UK plans to impose a midnight social media curfew for older teens.