France's Constitutional Council Strikes Down Social Media Ban for Under-15s

On August 14, 2026, France's Constitutional Council struck down the proposed law that would have banned social media access for children under 15, ruling that it disproportionately infringed on freedom of expression and privacy . The decision was a major setback for President Emmanuel Macron, who had championed the bill as a flagship reform of his final term .

Here is a breakdown of what the court ruled, why it struck the law down, how Macron responded, and where this fits in the global push for youth social media restrictions.

What the Constitutional Council Ruled

The Constitutional Council blocked the law in its entirety, ruling that the blanket ban could not be enforced without violating constitutional rights . The court found that the proposed bill was too broad to consider the individual situation of each minor or the specific risks of each platform . The law had been passed by the French parliament on July 21, 2026, with the National Assembly approving it by 279 votes to 81 and the Senate by 243 votes to 2 .

3 Key Legal Reasons for Striking It Down

1. Violation of Freedom of Expression

The court held that prohibiting minors under 15 from accessing certain online services inherently restricted their constitutionally protected right to express themselves freely . The Constitutional Council stated that the ban "could not sweepingly prohibit minors from social media without infringing freedom of expression and communication" .

2. Universal Age-Verification Burden Lacked Safeguards

The law would have required every person, including adults, to prove their age before accessing social media . The Council found this was an unwarranted and disproportionate infringement on privacy and freedom of expression for all users, not just minors . In its decision, the court said: "By prohibiting minors under the age of fifteen from accessing certain online services, the law inherently requires every person, even an adult, to prove their age before accessing them" . The Council concluded that the legislature "failed to specify the conditions and limits under which such proof must be provided" and did not establish the legal safeguards necessary to ensure compliance with privacy requirements .

3. The Ban Was Too Broad and Inflexible

The Council ruled that the proposed bill was too broad to consider the individual situation of each minor or the specific risks of each platform . One CNN report summarized that the court ruled the ban was "too broad and cannot be enforced without infringing on people's privacy" .

President Macron's Response

President Macron immediately ordered his government to rewrite the legislation. According to Italian press reports citing Macron's office, he instructed that a new, constitutionally compliant solution be ready by spring 2027 . Macron tasked Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu with revising the bill, aiming for its implementation before the 2027 presidential elections . Macron had championed the original bill as a flagship reform of his final term, previously calling its parliamentary passage a "major step forward" and saying "France is leading the way in Europe when it comes to protecting our children and teenagers" .

Broader Global Context

France's setback comes amid a wider international push for youth social media restrictions:

• Australia – Became the world's first country to implement a blanket ban, enacting the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which took effect December 10, 2025, blocking under-16s from platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, and X .

• United Kingdom – In June 2026, the UK government announced it will ban social media for under-16s, modeling its approach on Australia's .

• European landscape – France's bill was the first such blanket ban passed by an EU member state. Its constitutional failure now makes it a test case for how such laws must be crafted to survive judicial review in Europe, where freedom of expression protections are strong .

• Key tension – The core legal challenge seen across these efforts is balancing child protection goals against fundamental rights. Australia's ban has faced similar criticism, but has not yet been struck down by a comparable constitutional body. The French ruling signals that blanket prohibitions paired with universal age verification may face steep legal hurdles under European human rights frameworks .