France's constitutional court strikes down social media ban for under-15s

On August 14, 2026, France's Constitutional Council struck down a landmark law banning social media for children under 15, ruling that it infringed on freedom of expression and lacked privacy safeguards for age verification. In response, President Emmanuel Macron ordered Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to draft a revised version of the bill. Macron remains determined to implement the reform before the spring 2027 presidential election, aligning with proposed youth restrictions in the UK and EU.

Constitutional Council strikes down ban

• ▪Under the original French social media ban legislation, platforms would have had until the start of 2027 to close existing accounts of children under 15.
• ▪The French social media ban legislation, approved by lawmakers in July 2026, was scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026.
• ▪France's Constitutional Council struck down a law on August 14, 2026, that would have banned social media access for children under 15.

Freedom of expression infringement

• ▪The Constitutional Council stated that by prohibiting minors under 15 from accessing certain online services, the French social media ban inherently requires adults to prove their age before accessing them.
• ▪The Constitutional Council ruled that Article 1 of the French social media ban constituted an inappropriate, unnecessary, and disproportionate infringement on the freedom of expression and communication for under-15s.

Age verification legal safeguards

• ▪Opponents of the French social media ban raised concerns regarding privacy, the efficacy of age-verification tools, the risk of young people bypassing them, and the speed of the legislative process.
• ▪The Constitutional Council found that the French legislature failed to establish the necessary legal safeguards to protect private life by not specifying the conditions and limits for age verification.

Macron orders legislative revision

• ▪French President Emmanuel Macron expressed determination to implement the revised social media reform before the French presidential election in spring 2027.
• ▪Following the court ruling on August 14, 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron instructed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to prepare a revised, legally robust draft of the social media ban.
• ▪French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu referred parts of the social media ban legislation to the Constitutional Council for review after lawmakers voted on the bill in July 2026.

International social media age bans

• ▪Former British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced in June 2026 that the United Kingdom would ban social media for children under 16 starting in January 2027.
• ▪Australia enacted a world-first social media ban for children under 16 in December 2025, though reports indicate many minors continue to access the platforms.
• ▪European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a European Union-wide social media restriction for children following an expert group's recommendation to restrict access for under-13s.

4 sources