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French Top Court Blocks Under-15 Social Media Ban Over Free Expression Concerns
Key Points
The scope of the Macron-backed bill extended beyond a social media ban to include a prohibition on mobile phones in high schools starting with the 2026 school year.
The Constitutional Council said the proposal would require every person, including adults, to prove their age to access certain online services, but it failed to specify conditions and safeguards for how such verification would work.
The ruling frames the measure as an infringement on freedom of expression because it is not appropriate, necessary, or proportionate to protect minors’ rights, underscoring a strict proportionality assessment.
The decision notes that the legislation would bar access to certain online services for under-15s, not a blanket ban, highlighting a nuanced scope beyond a straightforward social media prohibition.
France's top court has blocked a law that would have banned social media for children under 15, ruling the measure went too far. The Constitutional Council said the bill would force even adults to prove their age online — and that lawmakers failed to spell out how that verification would work, according to CNN.
The decision is a major setback for President Emmanuel Macron, who backed the legislation. Macron has now told his prime minister to rewrite the bill so it can pass the court's scrutiny, RFI reported.
Why France's Top Court Struck the Law Down
The Constitutional Council said the ban was not "appropriate, necessary, or proportionate" to protect children. That is a strict legal test in France — and the law failed it. The court found the rule would block access to certain online services, not just social media, for anyone under 15, according to RFI.
The bigger problem, the court said, was that the law forced every person — adults included — to verify their age to access those services. Yet lawmakers never set out the rules or safeguards for how that age-checking would work. Without those protections, the court said the law infringed on freedom of expression, CNN reported.
The Bill Went Beyond Social Media
The legislation was broader than just a social media ban. It also included a ban on mobile phones in high schools, set to start with the 2026 school year, according to Yahoo News.
Parliament passed the bill last month with support from across the political spectrum. The move was part of a wider push by Macron's government to limit how much time children spend online. But the court's ruling means none of those measures can take effect as written, Inshorts reported.
Macron Pushes for a Rewrite to Save the Policy
Macron has not given up on the goal. He directed his prime minister to revise the legislation so it can clear the Constitutional Council's objections, RFI reported. The key challenge will be defining clear, safe rules for how age verification would work online.
France is not alone in this debate. Countries around the world are grappling with how to protect children online without trampling on broader rights. The French court's ruling sets a high bar — any new law will need to show it is targeted, workable, and backed by real legal safeguards.
A Broader Fight Over Kids and the Internet
The ruling lands amid a global conversation about youth screen time and online safety. France had hoped to become a model for other countries by setting a hard age limit. Instead, the decision shows how difficult it is to write such laws in a way that holds up in court, according to CNN.
The Constitutional Council's decision frames child protection and free expression as competing values that must be carefully balanced. Lawmakers now face the task of crafting a law that protects under-15s without imposing blanket restrictions that courts will reject again.
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