The French parliament has passed a bill banning minors under the age of 15 from using mainstream social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and X, with plans to implement the ban starting in the new school term in September 2026. New accounts will be banned first, existing accounts will be subsequently deleted, and high schools will simultaneously implement a complete ban on mobile phones. France thus becomes the first European country to implement a comprehensive ban on social media for those under 15.
The core change in this policy is shifting regulatory responsibility from "cleaning up harmful content" to "platforms must verify age and prevent minors from accessing the platform." For social media platforms, this will increase costs for identity verification, privacy protection, and compliance, and may weaken the growth of young users and advertising value. If the French model is replicated in more European countries, the user base and usage time of social media in Europe may be reassessed. However, issues such as age verification, GDPR compliance, and identity theft/IP bypassing will ultimately determine whether the ban can be truly implemented.
