France’s Parliament has greenlit a bill that would ban children under 15 from creating social media accounts, requiring platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat to verify users’ ages before granting access. If enacted, France would become the first European country to follow Australia’s lead with such a hard age cutoff, part of a broader wave of European legislation aimed at protecting children online. The bill is set to take effect as early as September 2026.
The law places the burden on social media platforms to implement age verification — not on parents or children themselves. Teens between 15 and 17 would still be allowed to join platforms but would require parental consent. Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are all considering similar measures, signaling that European governments are moving toward treating unrestricted youth social media access as a public health risk rather than a personal choice.