France has enacted a law banning social media access for anyone under 15, becoming the latest in a growing list of countries moving to restrict young people's use of such platforms. The law, passed on 21 July 2026, could take effect as soon as 1 September and also extends France's existing school mobile phone ban to secondary schools, building on rules already covering primary and middle schools. It follows Australia, which became the first country to enforce a comparable under-16 ban in December 2025, and reflects a wider international push to address cyberbullying, addiction, mental health harms and exposure to predators among children online, despite criticism from groups such as Amnesty Tech over invasive age verification and government overreach.

Several other nations are at varying stages of similar action: Austria is finalising legislation banning social media for under-14s, Canada has introduced a bill covering under-16s (with a possible one-year passage timeline and an opt-out for platforms with adequate safeguards), and Denmark aims to bring in an under-15 ban by mid-2026 alongside a new "digital evidence" age-verification app. Germany has discussed but not agreed an under-16 ban amid coalition disagreement, Greece plans an under-15 ban from January 2027 to tackle anxiety and sleep problems, and Indonesia has said it will restrict under-16s from social media. Australia's ban, the first to take effect, covers platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch and Kick, excludes WhatsApp and YouTube Kids, and carries fines of up to A$49.5 million for non-compliant companies.