The Constitutional Council in France has blocked a law banning social media for children.

The Constitutional Council of France has blocked an article of the law that prohibits children under the age of 15 from accessing social networks. This was announced on August 14 by BFMTV.

The Council considered that the ban infringes on the freedom of speech of teenagers, as well as violates the inviolability of private life, since the text does not define the conditions for age verification. The decisions of the Council are not subject to appeal.

President Emmanuel Macron remained committed to the idea of a ban. The Elysee Palace said that the prime Minister will prepare a new version of the law, taking into account the council's decision, and the reform is planned to be carried out by the spring of 2027.

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Macron said on February 6 that the country may impose restrictions on the use of games and chats with artificial intelligence (AI) by children and teenagers. He also did not rule out that various prohibitions could be among the possible measures.

In France, deputies of the National Assembly voted on January 27 to ban the use of social networks by people under the age of 15. The legislators expressed the hope that the ban on the use of social networks will take effect before the start of the new school year in September. Instagram (owned by Meta, a company whose activities are recognized as extremist in Russia and banned), Snapchat and TikTok will be included in the list of banned sites for teenagers under 15.