The measure is part of the draft text on a law for 'trust in the digital economy' and entrusts the French communication regulator Arcom (Autorité française de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique) with enforcement. The law also includes a measure to ban the use of mobile phones in lycées (high schools) - expanding bans that are already in place for younger pupils from maternelle (nursey) up to collège (secondary school). President Emmanuel Macron, who has said that he wants to make the social media ban a priority, announced in December that the measure would be debated "from January". A law setting the age of 'digital adulthood' at 15 was approved in 2023 but has not been brought into effect due to a blockade at the European level. If the proposal is passed, it would see France follow in the footsteps of Australia, which in December became the first country in the world to ban social media for children aged under 16.

Source: The Local December 31, 2025 16:07 UTC