France's top court blocks Macron-backed social media ban for under-15s
France's highest constitutional authority on Friday overturned a planned ban on social media access for children under 15, delivering a significant setback to a flagship proposal championed by President Emmanuel Macron.
The Constitutional Council ruled that Article 1 of the law was an “infringement that is neither appropriate, necessary, nor proportionate” to the right to freedom of expression and communication for those under 15. The decision also flagged concerns that introducing an age-verification system for all users could threaten privacy.
The legislation, which had been set to take effect on Sept. 1, would have prevented younger users from creating accounts on networks such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, and imposed additional restrictions on access to other online services. The French government had argued the ban was necessary to shield young people from the harmful effects of social media, including anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and online harassment.
Macron had publicly thanked parliamentarians in July for supporting the measure and promised to have it enforced by September. But after Friday's ruling, the Élysée Palace said Macron had instructed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to prepare a new “legally robust draft” that respects both the court's decision and European regulatory requirements. The palace stressed that Macron remains determined to see the reform enacted, describing it as a priority in the final stretch of his presidency.
The president has made online child safety a defining theme of his later months in office. With France's two-term presidential limit preventing him from running again in next April's national election, any new version of the law could be among the last major domestic reforms he pushes through.
Gabriel Attal, Macron's former prime minister and a vocal supporter of the ban, expressed disappointment after the ruling. “We take note of it and respect this decision, which applies to everyone,” he wrote on social media, while vowing to keep fighting against what he called “a deadly poison for our children.”
The court did not address a separate measure that would have banned mobile phone use in high schools from Sept. 1. French elementary and middle schools already prohibit students from having phones on campus.
The ruling comes as a growing number of governments move to restrict social media access for minors, amid rising public concern over the platforms' impact on adolescent mental health and well-being.