Ban on social media for under-15s struck down by the Constitutional Council

The ban on social media for under-15s, one of Emmanuel Macron’s flagship measures, has been struck down by the Constitutional Council. While acknowledging the need to protect children, the Council ruled that it constituted a “disproportionate infringement of freedom of expression and communication”.

The government-backed plan to ban social media for under-15s has, for now, been shelved. The measure, modelled on rules already in force in Australia and initially due to take effect from the start of the school year, has now been censured by the Constitutional Council. Left-wing France Unbowed MPs referred the matter to the Council on 23 July.

In announcing its decision, the Constitutional Council accepted that protecting children’s interests can justify limits on minors’ freedom to access social media. However, it also found that Article 1 of the proposed legislation “constitutes a disproportionate infringement of freedom of expression and communication”. The proposed law could also have undermined respect for privacy.

A social media ban for under-15s that needs redrafting

“[…] the proposed ban, applying to all minors under the age of fifteen, does not provide for any individual assessment of the risk to the minor, taking account in particular of their age, level of maturity and family situation”, the Constitutional Council stated. In particular, it criticised a blanket access ban that made no provision for circumstances in which a parent or legal guardian could choose to lift it where doing so would be in the child’s interests.

That was not the only issue: the ruling also highlighted the effect the proposed law would have had on the privacy of adults wishing to use social media. “[…] the law itself requires every person, including adults, to prove their age before accessing it”, the Council explained. Yet the legislation did not set out the conditions or limits governing this proof, especially those needed to safeguard the right to privacy.

For Emmanuel Macron, whose ban on social media for under-15s was a flagship policy, the Constitutional Council’s rejection is a significant setback. Nevertheless, the government has not abandoned the proposal. “[…] the President of the Republic has instructed the Prime Minister to work as swiftly as possible on legally robust wording that takes account of the Constitutional Council’s decision and the European framework”, the Élysée Palace has already announced. The executive now aims to introduce this child-protection measure by spring 2027.

Privacy-friendly solutions are emerging gradually

As age verification for accessing social media and other services is introduced around the world, technical solutions designed to respect privacy are gradually being developed.

Google, for instance, has already created an age-verification solution on Android that lets apps request a user’s age range, without requiring the apps themselves to ask for an identity document. More recently, the company announced that it would roll out the solution worldwide, including in countries with no specific measures in place.