French social media bans for minors stalls, but EU-wide decisions don't
The French Constitutional Council has blocked the law prohibiting minors under 15 from using social media and digital services; however, the needle may move in Brussels this fall if the EU member states agree on EU-wide rules that may trump the local law.
Last week, the French Constitutional Council - the highest constitutional authority in France - blocked the law banning minors under 15 years of age from using social media and other digital services, ruling it partially non-compliant.
The Council ruled that the current draft of the law is too broad and restrictive, fails to take into account the distinct nature and dangers of different online communication channels, and infringes on the rights to freedom of expression, private life, and parental rights.
The Constitutional Council’s decision was not initiated by themselves, and the law's constitutionality hasn't been assessed. The decision comes as a response to the French parliamentarians' petition, who argued that the scope of the law is too broad, does not take into account the different nature and dangers of digital services, while also infringing the right of free expression, and depriving parental authority to decide what’s best for their child. Furthermore, the parliamentarians argued that there is currently no technical assessment of the best ways to verify users' ages in a safe and non-invasive manner.
Paris - Brussels angle
The French law in question had to come into force in September 2026, and the French lawmakers will now have to work on narrowing down the scope, expanding on exemptions, and clarifying the technical aspects of age verification.
However, the European Commission is simultaneously working on a minimum age requirement on an EU-wide basis, and if a general and imperative agreement is reached in the Fall of 2026, the EU law may trump local law and local opposition. While EU member-state policymakers might face legal pushback at the national level, as demonstrated by the French parliamentarians' petition to the Constitutional Council, decision-making at the Council level is likely to be easier, as currently only Estonia remains openly critical.
Furthermore, although the special expert panel has previously suggested that the EU Commission should only limit minors' access to social media and other services for those under 13, the EU member state representatives in Brussels are likely to push back. Moreover, the very same special expert panels’ recommendation to introduce age- and maturity-based restrictions also leaves ample room for maneuver and certainly does not rule out the ambition to introduce mass age-verification measures.
Freedom of expression: old principles are applicable to new technologies
The French Constitutional Court ruled that the ideas the French are proud of - freedom of self-expression, entrenched in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 and the French Constitution’s Article 34 - are also applicable to modern online communication services.
In other words, in the present-day world, the widespread use of online communication services has become an important part of participating in democratic life, expressing one’s thoughts, and exercising one's rights, and any political action that limits them must be clearly defined and justified.
Blanket bans for under-15-year-olds: off the table
The Council has also decided that the general prohibition on those under 15, without clearly defined exemptions and an assessment of the dangers, is a no-go, as it infringes upon freedom of expression and communication.
In essence, the French Court’s decision echoes the special expert panel’s mid-July position: different maturity levels among teenagers require different and tailored solutions. The French Court expands on this idea, stating that different family situations and the nature and danger of the particular service must be assessed and require different levels of protection.
However, the Council has left some room for maneuver by stating that the lawmakers' general idea to protect minors from addiction, isolation, exposure to pornography, harassment, or fraud is justified. Judging by the liberal use of data and arguments, the global policymakers have engaged on the matter before, this broad list gives French policymakers a yellow, not a red light when it comes to further restrictions for teenagers.
Online services: can’t treat everyone the same way
Currently, the French draft law exempts online encyclopedias, educational and scientific websites, free software, and open-source education platforms from prohibitions on access for minors. However, according to the Council's ruling, the list of services currently exempt from prohibitions is too narrow, while the scope of prohibitions is too broad.
According to the Council, the French draft law prohibits access to various online platforms designed to connect, communicate, share, or discover content, and this prohibition is “not based on realistic conditions,” such as their functionalities, content, dangers, or the inadequacy of the protections they currently provide. Social media-wise, the Council noted that while social networks, messaging apps, or even online games are not inherently educational, they are often created in connection with educational activities.
Reduced authority for parents & caregivers
Another important argument that the French Constitutional Council has established is the right for parents to exercise the rights that may be limited under the proposed French law.
The Council states that the law currently contains no provisions governing the conditions under which parents or caregivers may lift the prohibition or authorize access to certain services. In other words, even if a parent decides their 14-year-old child is mature enough to use certain social media channels, doing so would be illegal.
Age verification vs the right to private life
Lastly, the Court referred to Article 2 of the Declaration of 1789, which implies the right to respect for private life. Further, the Court argues that a blanket ban on anyone under 15 will require everyone, including adults, to “prove their age.” The Court says that the draft law does not currently set conditions and limits for such mass age verification.
The technical aspects of age-related prohibitions are likely to be the most difficult point for both individual EU member states and EU-level policymakers. While the EU countries differ in their approach to the right to private life, and some will certainly celebrate mass verification to fight bots, scammers, and fraudsters, the nature of mass age-verification, combined with an increasing number of AI-powered cyberattacks against both private and public digital services, may soon raise new questions about the mass data collection and processing, however noble the reason for it is.
Zoltán Kész