Hajra Naz
France is poised to put restrictions on a wide variety of digital practices in an effort to protect young people, including a ban on social media for users under 15 and, in schools, on the use of mobile phones. Chen plans to have the measures take effect from September 2026, according to a report by Reuters, in response to public and political concern about the impact of excessive time spent staring at screens on minors.
The initiative is part of a wider effort by the French government to crack down on online harms, and gadgets that feature in young people’s lives come with harmful digital environments.
Screen Time and Internet Safety
The draft rules aim to reduce problematic screen time and protect minors from hazards, including inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and ill-advised in-app purchases. Numa has been quiet on the social media front during France’s curfew, but the micro-blogging and social networking site Twitter has certainly not.
No evening or night goes by without a stabbing or slash and browser with youngsters, he added. Press Trust of India reported from Paris that the European Union will take up the issue of blocking terror material online at next week’s EU Internet forum.
A draft document that has not been made public, but which Le Monde cited, says,
“Many studies and reports now confirm the various risks associated with the use by adolescents of digital screens in excessive conditions.”
Chronicle that unfettered access to the internet may also expose children to harmful content, increase the risk of cyberbullying, and affect sleep and mental health.
Read More: Pew Study Reveals How Teens Use Social Media and AI Chatbots
Political Backing and Legislative Timeline
This month, France’s upper house of Parliament, the Senate, approved a measure to protect adolescents from what French politicians have called excessive screen time and social media. That plan includes a provision that would require parental sign-off for children ages 13 to 16 who are on social media platforms.
President Macron is now calling for the proposal to be discussed in Parliament in January 2026, and if adopted, it would enact the restrictions by September that year, French media have reported.
France Follows Global Momentum
France’s move is part of a broader global push to prevent young people from accessing social media. Australia became the first country in the world to criminalize the use of social media for children under 16 in December 2026, with its copycat platforms (Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, and X being specifically targeted), as part of proposed new laws that aim to reduce risks around online safety and harmful effects of social media for underage users.
And other countries are taking the leap, too. In Malaysia, for instance, social media platforms will have to block users under 16 through compulsory age verification from Jan 1, 2025.
Read More: Australia Shuts Down YouTube Accounts for Children Under 16
A Turn Toward More Stringent Digital Protections
Taken together, the moves signal a wider shift toward tighter digital protections for children as governments around the world question whether existing safeguards are up to the job. France’s proposal places the country in an expanding group of nations that are prepared to put hard limits on access to social media when faced with mounting signs of its impact on young people’s development and well-being.
