France passes social media ban for under-15s but will it become law?

French senators have approved a draft law that will ban social media access for children under the age of 15, joining countries around the world in considering a move unpopular with many teenagers but supported by some parents and teachers.

President Emmanuel Macron wanted the law in place in time for the start of the next academic year, in September. It will see France follow Australia, whose world-first ban for under-16s on platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.

Both houses of parliament seem to have different visions for the ban, meaning they will likely need to reach a compromise before it can become law.

Even if the legislation is adopted, questions remain over whether it could be enforced.

Here's what we know:

What's in the bill?

The lower house National Assembly in January passed legislation demanding all social media platforms refuse new users under 15 and suspend accounts belonging to children under that age.

The right-leaning Senate, which adopted the bill on Tuesday, did so with some reservations and attached several conditions through amendments to the text, which could delay the bill being adopted by both houses.

A committee in the upper house has instead suggested a two-tier system, distinguishing between platforms flagged as harmful to a child's "physical, mental, or moral development", and those that could still be accessed with parental consent.

Their revised version of the bill excludes online encyclopaedias and educational platforms.

Why now?

First Lady Brigitte Macron has been campaigning against cyberbullying for years.

France's public health watchdog last year said platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram were detrimental to adolescents, particularly girls, though it was not the sole reason for their declining mental health.

The president has said the emotions of children and teenagers should not be "for sale or manipulated ."

After Macron's government suspended a flagship pensions reform last year, a social media ban could be his last major domestic change before he steps down in April 2027.

Last week a jury in Los Angeles found Meta and Alphabet's Google negligent for designing social media platforms that are harmful to young people and found them liable for damages in a case that could serve as a bellwether for others.

"The idea is to be able to require platforms to implement age verification that is reliable, robust, and protective of personal data," said French lawmaker Laure Miller, who drafted the bill.

"It's clear that young people have access to smartphones at increasingly younger ages," she said. "This has a significant impact on their development, both personally and cognitively," she added, arguing that governments must regulate this and not leave it in the hands of social media giants.

What do critics say?

There are still opponents to any ban.

Nine child protection associations in January said lawmakers should hold the platforms responsible, not ban children from social media.

Hard-left lawmaker Arnaud Saint-Martin at the time said such a ban would amount to "digital paternalism" and be an "overly simplistic" response to the negative impacts of technology.

Could a ban be implemented?

Even if the French law passes, putting it into place will be tricky.

Work on an effective age verification system is underway at the EU level, but is not due to be introduced until early 2027. 

While backing France's right to impose such a ban, the European Commission in January said that any enforcement would lie with the European Union, provided the bill conforms to the bloc's laws.

There are also concerns that under-15s will get around the age verification system by using virtual private networks or switching to newer platforms.

What are other countries doing?

In December, Australia became the first country in the world to require TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other top sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, or face heavy fines.

Indonesia began enforcing a social media ban for users under the age of 16 last Saturday, and has already issued summons letters to Google and Meta over their failure to comply with the law.

Austria announced last week it would soon ban social media for children up to the age of 14, with a plan to present a new law "as early as this summer".

Spain and Denmark have also announced their intention to introduce a digital age of majority for social networks.

UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has said he is "open-minded" about a potential outright social media ban for under-16s. 

Among other features under discussion by Starmer's government are curbing functions like infinite scrolling and 'streaks' that encourage prolonged app usage.