France plans to ban children under 15 from using social media in schools

France is going to ban children under the age of 15 from using social media and mobile phones in secondary schools from September 2026, amid growing concern about the impact of online harm on minors. This was reported on December 31 by the Reuters news agency, citing local media.

"The President of [France] Emmanuel Macron has often focused on social media as one of the factors responsible for youth violence, and has made it clear that he wants France to follow the example of Australia, whose world—first ban on the use of social media for people under 16 <...> came into force in December," the statement said. the material.

It is specified that the draft law, which will be presented by the French government in early January, involves expanding the existing ban on the use of mobile phones in schools. Since 2018, the country has already banned mobile phones in primary and secondary schools, and the new measures will apply to high school students. Secondary schools in France teach students between the ages of 11 and 15.

In addition, in 2023, a law was passed requiring social platforms to obtain parental consent to create accounts for children under the age of 15, although technical problems prevent the full implementation of this rule. Macron also announced his intention to achieve the adoption of relevant norms at the level of the European Union (EU) after the tragic incident at school when a student was fatally injured.

On December 9, Reuters reported that for the first time in the world, a law banning the use of social networks by children under the age of 16 had entered into force in Australia. Facebook instagrammed platforms such as TikTok, Alphabet, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook (owned by Meta, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

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