France’s parliament has approved legislation barring children younger than 15 from holding accounts on major social-media platforms, advancing one of Europe’s most restrictive national age-limit policies.
Both houses passed the measure July 21, with the National Assembly approving it 279-81. The Constitutional Council must still review the law before it can be fully implemented.
Under the schedule described in French and international reporting, platforms would have to block new under-15 accounts beginning Sept. 1. Existing accounts held by children under 15 would be addressed beginning in January 2027. Educational and encyclopedic services are expected to receive exceptions.
Responsibility for age checks falls on platforms rather than children or parents. That raises practical questions about which verification methods will be accepted, how much personal information will be collected, how errors can be appealed and whether teenagers will bypass controls.
Supporters say the law responds to concerns about addictive design, cyberbullying and exposure to harmful content. Civil-liberties and technology experts say age assurance must be designed so that it does not create a new database of sensitive identity information for all users.
The vote and timeline were reported by The Local France and Agence France-Presse. This story describes parliamentary approval, not final constitutional clearance.
