Overview

• Macron set a deadline of “a few months” for the EU to require robust age verification on social platforms or France will unilaterally bar users under 15.
• France’s 2023 “digital majority” law remains on hold pending Brussels’s green light under the Digital Services Act framework.
• Seven EU member states have backed France’s push for mandatory age checks, but the CNIL warns that collecting identity data risks infringing privacy.
• Experts warn technical workarounds like VPNs and fake-ID tools could severely limit the effectiveness of any under-15 ban.
• Australia’s under-16 social media ban coming into force this year and China’s strict youth rules offer contrasting enforcement models.