France’s Top Court Strikes Down Social Media Ban for Kids

France must wait a bit longer to become the European Union’s first member state to ban social media for children after its proposed law was struck down by France’s constitutional council.

As Engadget reports, France’s top court found issues with the law on the basis that it would inherently require all social media users, not just children, to verify their age.

“By prohibiting minors under the age of ​fifteen from accessing certain online services, the law inherently requires every person, even an adult, to ​prove their age before accessing them. However, by failing to specify the conditions and limits under which such proof must be provided, the legislature has not established the legal safeguards necessary to ensure compliance with these requirements,” the court said in its decision.

At a basic level, the issue at hand is whether the law infringes on privacy and freedom.

On the freedom side, France’s top court said the legislation would “disproportionately infringe upon the freedom of expression and communication.” On the privacy side, the proposed legislation failed to “provide the legal safeguards necessary to ensure the right to respect for private life.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked legislators to rewrite the bill to give it another chance to survive the scrutiny of France’s top court.

Even if the legislation becomes official law in France, the nation may find it difficult to enforce. Australia has been struggling to enforce its world’s first social media ban since it enacted it in 2024.

Social media companies, as expected, generally fight hard against these types of laws, arguing that their built-in child safety features already protect children sufficiently. Of course, they have a very real financial stake in having as many users as possible, including kids.

There is ever-growing evidence that social media use can be especially harmful for children, including increasing the risks of anxiety, depression, and self-harm.

It remains to be seen when French lawmakers may take another crack at their social media ban bill. And if so, whether it will satisfy freedom and privacy concerns from the nation’s constitutional court.

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