France has approved a ban on social media access for children under 15, making it the first country in the European Union to pass such a measure. The move follows long-running support from President Emmanuel Macron, who had previously argued for stronger limits on young people's use of major online platforms.
The new law places France at the front of a wider international effort to tighten rules around children's internet use. Governments in several countries have been debating how far they should go to address concerns about online safety, screen time and the influence of social networks on minors.
Supporters of the French approach are likely to frame the law as a child-protection measure. But the decision also raises broader questions about digital rights, age verification and how restrictions on online access will be enforced in practice. Those concerns have fueled criticism that such policies can expand state control over internet use while limiting online freedom.
For Macron, the legislation delivers a policy goal he had pushed before the end of his presidency. For Europe, it may become an early test of whether tougher social media limits on children spread across the bloc or trigger a larger backlash over privacy and internet freedom.
