Overview
- A completed draft would bar platforms from providing social media services to anyone under 15 and prohibit mobile phone use in secondary schools.
- President Emmanuel Macron backs the plan, which cites risks from excessive screen use including exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying and disrupted sleep.
- The proposal follows Australia’s under-16 ban that took effect in December, and officials say they aim to keep the French text compatible with EU rules such as the Digital Services Act.
- Past measures highlight implementation hurdles, with a 2018 phone ban in lower schools rarely enforced and a 2023 'digital legal age' law later blocked under EU rules.
- A separate Senate initiative this month seeks parental authorization for 13- to 16-year-olds to register on social networks and now awaits National Assembly review.