The Constitutional Council of France has blocked a key provision of proposed legislation that would prohibit children under the age of 15 from accessing social networks. The ruling was announced on August 14 and asserts that the measure violates teenagers’ right to freedom of speech and inviolability of private life due to an absence of clear standards for age verification.
The Council’s decision is final and cannot be appealed. President Emmanuel Macron has maintained his commitment to implementing a social media restriction framework for minors. The Élysée Palace stated that the prime minister will revise the law to address the Council’s concerns, with the reform targeted for implementation by spring 2027.
Earlier this year, Macron indicated on February 6 that France might impose age-based restrictions on games and artificial intelligence chat applications used by children and teenagers. He also suggested that additional prohibitions could be part of future regulations.
On January 27, French lawmakers in the National Assembly voted to ban social networks for individuals under 15, with hopes that the restriction would take effect before the new school year in September. The legislation designates Instagram (owned by Meta, a company whose activities are recognized as extremist in Russia and banned), Snapchat, and TikTok as prohibited platforms for minors.
