PARIS – In a landmark ruling that has upended a high-profile policy effort to shield minors from digital harm, France’s Constitutional Council announced Friday that a controversial law imposing a national ban on social media use for children under 15 is unconstitutional. The court’s official decision found the sweeping provisions of the ban violated fundamental French legal protections for freedom of expression and communication, noting that the legislation failed to put in place adequate safeguards to preserve these core civil liberties.
Just one month prior, France made history as the first European Union member state to enact such a blanket restriction on minor social media access, a move that came amid growing global alarm over the well-documented negative impacts of unregulated social media use on children’s mental health, social development, and personal safety. The legislation, which also included a ban on mobile device use in all high school campuses, passed with bipartisan support through both chambers of the French national parliament.
As one of the final major policy initiatives pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron’s administration before his term concludes in 2025, the law was slated to go into force at the opening of the 2024 academic year in September. However, mandatory constitutional review triggered by the bill’s contested provisions placed its implementation on hold before it could take effect.
In the wake of the court’s rejection, President Macron reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to delivering a valid, enforceable ban by the spring of 2025. In an official statement released shortly after the ruling, Macron said he has directed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to expedite work on a revised proposal that addresses the Constitutional Council’s constitutional concerns while also aligning with broader European Union digital regulatory frameworks. “On this framework, it will fall to the President of the Republic, the Government, and Parliament to put in place all the necessary tools and structures to protect our children from the risks of unregulated social media access before the end of the current presidential term,” Macron added.