French Court Invalidates Under-15 Social Media Access Ban
On August 14, 2026, the French Constitutional Council invalidated Article 1 of the Act to protect minors from risks linked to social media use. The provision would have prevented children under 15 from accessing online social media services. The Council found that the measure imposed a disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression and communication and lacked sufficient privacy safeguards for the age-verification system it would require.
The decision relies on Article 11 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which protects the free communication of thoughts and opinions. The Council reiterated that this protection includes access to public online communication services and the ability to express oneself through them. Parliament may regulate that freedom to protect public order and third-party rights, but restrictions must be appropriate, necessary, and proportionate.
France’s legislature pursued legitimate objectives, including protecting children from addiction, isolation, harmful content, harassment, fraud, and pornography. However, the statutory definition covered a very broad range of services. By referring to concepts under the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, the ban could have reached collaborative platforms, communication apps, social online games, and education-related networks, even where the relevant risks were not established or were addressed through effective safeguards.
The Council also criticized the absence of an individual assessment. The ban applied automatically to every user under 15, without allowing parents or legal representatives to authorize access to particular services or account for a child’s maturity, circumstances, or the safeguards used by a platform. This broad and inflexible approach was not sufficiently connected to the specific risks the Act sought to address.
Finally, the Council held that the legislature had failed to frame the conditions and limits of age verification. Since a prohibition on under-15 access would require users, including adults, to demonstrate their age, Parliament needed to set adequate legal protections for privacy under Article 2 of the 1789 Declaration. Article 1 cannot be promulgated. The French government has stated that it intends to prepare a revised measure consistent with the decision and the EU digital-law framework, with a target of spring 2027.
