France draws the line at 15: inside Europe’s first social media ban for children | Explained

The story so far: Years since whistleblowers first sounded alarm over social media companies pushing harmful and addictive content towards children, France, on Tuesday (July 21, 2026), became the first European Union (EU) nation to legislate a blanket ban on social media access to children under 15 years of age.

The ban had been a key priority on French President Emmanuel Macron’s agenda since his second term in office. “The brains of our children and our teenagers are not for sale,” he had said in a video message earlier this year. The legislation was approved by both the French National Assembly and the Senate, with the National Assembly voting 279 in favour, 81 against and 66 abstentions. “I committed to it, it is now passed: social media will be banned for those under 15 at the start of the school year,” the President said in a social media post after the vote.