- By Shivangi Sharma
- Tue, 27 Jan 2026 09:18 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
France has taken a decisive step in the global debate over children and technology by moving closer to banning social media use for those under 15. Lawmakers say the aim is to protect young minds from the psychological and emotional harms of excessive screen time in a fast-moving digital world that has outpaced regulation.
The French National Assembly adopted the bill by a vote of 130 to 21 during a lengthy overnight session from Monday to Tuesday. The legislation will now move to the Senate, France’s upper house, before becoming law.
President Emmanuel Macron hailed the vote as a “major step” to safeguard children and teenagers. “The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, either by American platforms or Chinese algorithms,” Macron said in a video message. The bill also proposes a ban on mobile phones in high schools, reinforcing France’s tough stance on screen use among students.
Authorities want the measures enforced from the start of the 2026 school year for new accounts. Former prime minister Gabriel Attal said he hopes the Senate clears the bill by mid-February so it can take effect on September 1. Platforms would then have until December 31 to deactivate existing non-compliant accounts.
Following Australia’s Lead
If enacted, France would become the second country after Australia to impose such a restriction. Australia’s landmark law, passed in December, bans social media accounts for anyone under 16. Since enforcement began in late 2025, more than 4.7 million underage accounts have reportedly been deactivated. Platforms that fail to take “reasonable steps” to block access face fines of up to USD 50 million.
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Other Countries Move To Act
The push to regulate children’s access to social media is gaining momentum worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the House of Lords recently backed an amendment to ban social media for under-16s, alongside consultations on phone curfews and stricter age verification.
Malaysia has announced a nationwide ban for children under 16 starting July 2026, using government-ID-based digital verification, while Norway has raised its statutory age limit from 13 to 15.
In the United States, a federal ban remains unlikely, but Virginia introduced a one-hour daily limit for users under 16 from January 2026, with parental consent required for extensions. Together, these moves signal a growing global shift from voluntary platform rules to legally enforced limits on children’s social media use.