France's parliament has approved legislation banning social media access for children under 15, making it the first EU country to impose such a restriction on platforms like TikTok. President Emmanuel Macron has championed the ban as a flagship reform, pledging to enforce it by September and describing it as a major step in protecting children online, though the Constitutional Council must still rule on the bill before it becomes law.

The National Assembly passed the bill by 279 votes to 81 after Senate approval, with the ban rolling out in two stages: under-15s will be blocked from creating new accounts from 1 September, while existing accounts will be affected from January 2027. Digital minister Anne Le Hénanff said age-verification tools already exist and platforms bear responsibility for enforcement, with accounts closed if users are found to be under 15. The move follows warnings from France's public health watchdog about the harms of platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, particularly for girls, and comes as the European Commission considers similar EU-wide restrictions after pressure from France, Greece and Spain.