French MPs have backed a social media ban for under-15s, leaving platforms to build the age-checking machinery.
According to The Guardian the bill makes France the first European country to block kids from apps such as TikTok, assuming the Constitutional Council does not spike it.
French president Emmanuel Macron has pushed the ban as a major reform of his final term and wants it enforced by September.
Macron said in a video posted on social media: “France is leading the way in Europe when it comes to protecting our children and teenagers and it is a major step forward.”
“The Constitutional Council must now rule on it, and then it will be time to take action to make this measure a reality and protect our children online,” he added on X.
The Senate approved the bill earlier that day, before the National Assembly passed it by a vote of 279 to 81.
Governments have been inching towards tougher limits as warnings pile up about the damage social media can do to children.
The ban arrives in two chunks. Under-15s would be stopped from creating new accounts from 1 September 2026. Existing accounts would face the chop from January 2027, according to the legislation, which gives platforms a few months to sort their systems.
Digital minister Anne Le Henanff said before the vote that the timetable was realistic, “because age-verification tools already exist” and others were still being built.
Le Henanff said the platforms would be expected to impose the rule rather than whinge about it from a policy blog.
“For four months, all of us in France will have to prove our age. If someone is under 15, the account will be closed,” she said.
