The ban on social media for individuals under 15 in France has been overturned just two weeks before it was set to take effect.

      The decision came approximately two weeks prior to the scheduled start of the ban, as reported by Bloomberg. Platforms were expected to cease account creation for users under 15 starting on 1 September. The law received final approval from Parliament on 21 July, which was covered by the desk at that time.

      What the Council decided:

      The Council overturned the ban on the grounds of freedom of expression, stating that the restriction was “une atteinte qui n’est pas adaptée, nécessaire et proportionnée,” according to Brut. In English, this translates to an infringement that is neither appropriate, necessary, nor proportionate to the intended objective. The Council emphasized that the broad scope of the ban was a specific issue, noting that the prohibition extended to services where “les risques pour la santé et la sécurité des mineurs (…) ne sont pas établis,” meaning risks to minors' health and safety were not proven. Additionally, the second point focused on privacy, revealing that the legislator failed to provide the necessary legal protections for privacy concerning age verification.

      What the law intended to do:

      Article 1 encompassed a wide range of services, including TikTok, Snapchat, X, Instagram, the social functions of YouTube, various messaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger, and several online games. The breadth of the scope was crucial in the ruling, as a single article needed to justify itself across distinct services, and the Council found insufficient evidence to support this. The text does not specify any platform and applies instead to services that fit the definition of a social network under France’s 2004 digital confidence law. The timeline included two key dates, as per LCP, the parliamentary channel: new accounts were to be stopped on 1 September, followed by a four-month transition for existing accounts until 1 January 2027. Exemptions were included for online encyclopedias, educational directories, and open-source educational software.

      What remains after the ruling:

      Schools are not affected by this ruling, and the smartphone ban for lycées remains set to begin on 1 September. This outcome results from procedural reasons rather than substantive ones, as the Council only addressed Article 1, leaving the remainder of the law untouched. The education minister defended this provision in terms of attention and concentration, noting that existing bans had already been implemented in primary and secondary schools, and that the law extends this to sixth-form level.

      Who initiated the challenge:

      La France Insoumise referred the law to the Council in July, according to Generation-NT. The party raised two constitutional arguments. The first was regarding freedom of expression and communication, claiming the absolute nature of the ban constituted a disproportionate restriction. The second point concerned privacy under the 1789 Declaration, both of which were acknowledged in the Council's decision. LFI also contended that the ban treated different types of platforms uniformly, arguing that social platforms facilitate socialization, access to information, and civic engagement, and that different services pose varying levels of risk.

      What was removed from enforcement prior:

      The version of the law that reached the Council was already weaker than the initially proposed measure. Parliament removed the age-verification requirement ahead of the final vote, as reported by TechTimes. The original text mandated platforms to submit verification proposals to Arcom, the audiovisual regulator, for approval by 1 September, but this provision was eliminated along with Arcom’s authority to impose measures on platforms that failed to comply by the deadline. A section revising the penal code regarding parental negligence was also eliminated, resulting in no penalties being specified in the adopted law. Verification would be left to the platforms but would require approval by CNIL, the privacy regulator, without specifying a method, meaning that document checks, facial age estimation, or other methods could all potentially qualify.

      The government’s defense:

      Ministers framed the law as primarily a measure for child protection, rather than regulating speech, positioning the ban at the forefront of its digital policy for the upcoming school year. Poll results supported their argument, with a study by Arcom in July indicating that over two-thirds of children aged 10 to 14 were in favor of the ban, according to reports on the decision. French media characterized the ruling as a setback for Emmanuel Macron, who had publicly backed the initiative and advocated for the September implementation date.

      Comparison with other bans:

      Australia has often been the reference point in this context, particularly concerning penalties. Its ban on users under 16 imposes fines up to A$49.5 million, yet a study conducted six months later revealed that 85% of that age group continued to use the platforms. France aimed to achieve a similar outcome without including penalties in the law. Enforcement was planned to rely on the EU Digital Services Act, which allows fines up to 6% of global revenue, although, as noted by TechTimes, this route has not yet yielded any child safety penalties despite some cases being initiated by the Commission. Recently, Australia shifted its strategy to target device layers, with