France's Top Court Blocks Law Banning Social Media for Kids Under 15
France's highest constitutional court struck down a law on 14 August 2026 that would have banned children under 15 from using social media. The court said the law went too far in restricting freedom of expression, which is the right to share ideas and opinions freely. The law, passed by Parliament on 21 July 2026, was set to take effect in September. Conseil constitutionnel
The court found two main problems. First, the law did not explain clearly enough how people would have to prove their age. Second, it did not include protections for privacy, meaning the right to keep personal information private. The law would have required tech companies to close accounts belonging to anyone under 15 within four months and to use age-verification tools approved by France's privacy regulator, called the CNIL. The court's ruling came down to a principle called proportionality, which means that when a government limits a right, the restriction must be no wider than necessary to achieve its goal. Think of it like using a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer. The court said a blanket ban on all under-15s, combined with unclear age-verification rules, was a sledgehammer approach that conflicted with constitutional protections. The Guardian
President Emmanuel Macron has asked Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to rewrite the law to fix the problems the court identified. Macron still wants a social media reform law in place before the spring 2027 presidential election, for which he is not allowed to run for a third term. That gives the government a short window to write a new version that passes the court's tests on age verification and privacy. The Guardian
The broader context here is that countries around the world are racing to set legal age limits on social media. Australia barred children under 16 from major platforms in December 2025, covering Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, and YouTube. France's version targeted a lower age, 15, and put the responsibility on platforms to enforce the rule rather than banning specific services outright. The court's ruling draws a clear line between what a law aims to do and whether the way it does that holds up constitutionally. The law's goal of protecting children was not in dispute, but its method was. The Guardian
For what this means going forward, the court's decision points to age verification as the key issue. Any new law will need to spell out exactly when and how age is checked and how that data is stored, with built-in privacy protections the original law lacked. The court's reasoning suggests a narrower approach with specific, clearly limited age-verification methods could pass. But the problems the court found are structural, not minor details. Fixing them before the election will likely require a heavily rewritten bill or a brand-new one. Conseil constitutionnel
For tech companies in France, the ruling keeps things as they are for now. They will not have to close under-15 accounts within four months. But the political support for restricting children's social media access remains strong across French politics. The real question is whether the government can turn that support into a law that survives the tests the court has now set.
