France eyes Australia-style social media ban for children this year

France eyes Australia-style social media ban for children this year
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France plans to follow Australia and ban social media platforms for children from the start of the 2026 academic year, The Guardian reported.

A draft bill preventing under-15s from using social media will be submitted for legal checks and is expected to be debated in parliament early in the new year.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has made it clear in recent weeks that he wants France to swiftly follow Australia’s world-first ban on social media platforms for under-16s, which came into force in December. It includes Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.

The bill will be submitted to France’s Conseil d’État for legal review in the coming days. Education unions will also look at the proposed high-school ban on phones.

The government wants the social media ban to come into force from September 2026.