France’s constitutional council has blocked a law that would have banned children under 15 from accessing social media platforms.
The legislation, passed last month, would have made France the first European country to introduce such a ban.
The court ruled that the law would require every user, including adults, to prove their age before accessing affected online services. It said the legislation did not specify adequate conditions or limits for how age verification would work.
“By failing to specify the conditions and limits under which such proof must be provided, the legislature has not established the legal safeguards necessary” to meet the required standards, the court said.
President Emmanuel Macron has asked Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to rewrite the legislation in response to the ruling.
Macron has repeatedly backed restricting access to social media for children, meaning the proposal is likely to return in a revised form.
France’s plans follow Australia’s restrictions on social-media use by children under 16. Similar proposals are also being considered in Denmark, the UK, Canada and several US states.
