France Plans 2026 Ban on Social Media for Under-15s, Advancing EU-Wide Digital ID Approach
French lawmakers are preparing a renewed push to limit children’s online exposure, unveiling a proposal that would block anyone under 15 from using social media platforms.
The draft legislation, reviewed by AFP, sets September 2026 as the target date for enforcement.
President Emmanuel Macron has endorsed the plan and urged Parliament to take it up.
France’s effort follows a similar move in Australia, which recently became the first country to impose an outright ban on under-16s accessing social media.
To apply such a rule, online platforms would need to verify every user’s age at sign-up or login. This would go far beyond the current model of self-declared birthdays and instead rely on official credentials such as national IDs, driver’s licenses, or government-backed digital identity wallets.
In effect, it would introduce a form of digital ID into everyday internet use.
The United Kingdom has moved in the same direction under its Online Safety Act. The law obliges many digital …