Overview
- The French parliament approved the law on Tuesday and set a fast timetable that bars new social‑media accounts for under‑15s from September 1 and requires existing accounts be closed by January 1, 2027.
- Platforms must implement age‑verification systems to enforce the ban, while the law leaves technical details to regulators and does not create criminal penalties for children or parents.
- Brussels has flagged legal concerns about national rules overriding EU competence on platform regulation and is reviewing the text with Paris, a step that could delay practical rollout.
- Critics and experts warn enforcement will be hard because minors often use fake accounts, older relatives' logins or tools that hide location, a pattern seen after Australia introduced a similar ban.
- The law also extends school mobile‑phone bans to upper secondary schools and exempts educational and encyclopaedic services, and its implementation will shape wider EU debates about a single digital age floor.