French Senate backs social media ban for children under 15
What’s next: If the lower house signs off, new accounts would be blocked from Sept. 1 and existing ones shut by January 2027.
France’s Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would bar children younger than 15 from opening social media accounts, moving the country closer to becoming the first in Europe to impose a nationwide age cutoff. The lower house was also expected to vote on the measure after lawmakers from both chambers agreed on a final text Monday. Under the bill, platforms would have to use age checks cleared by France’s privacy regulator, with new under-15 accounts banned from Sept. 1 and existing accounts closed within four months. The legislation also includes a ban on smartphone use in high schools. President Emmanuel Macron has pushed to get the law in place by the start of the school year.