France approved the law to ban social media from those who are under 15 years old. The law will be regulated from January 2027, marking the first European country to govern it. BBC reported, everyone in France needs to verify their age before accessing social media.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the move pledging to mark the end of his decade in office. Both the French Senate and National Assembly adopted the ban on Tuesday, despite criticism from some on the left, according to BBC.
It will be implemented in two stages:
- From September, people under 15 will not be able to open accounts and age verification will be required on all new accounts
- In January 2027, this rule will apply to all existing accounts - meaning everyone in France will have to prove they are over 15 to use social media
Once the ban is in place, social media platforms would need to use age-verification tools approved by the French privacy regulator, according to Reuters news agency.
