Ban lifted: court in France temporarily protects teenagers' right to TikTok and Instagram (Updated)

France's plan to ban children under 15 from using social media from the start of the new school year has been blocked by the Constitutional Council.

On August 14, the highest constitutional oversight body found Article 1 of the law on the protection of minors from the risks of social media to be unconstitutional. It was this article that introduced a general ban on access to such platforms for children under 15.

This changes the situation that KURS Ukraine previously reported on. In July, both houses of the French parliament had indeed finally approved the law, and the restrictions had been expected to take effect from September 1, 2026. However, the document still had to undergo constitutional review.

So now the ban in the form adopted by parliament will not be introduced.

Why the Constitutional Council struck down the ban

The Council did not question the state's right to protect children from the risks of social media. The decision explicitly states that protecting the best interests of the child and preventing threats to public order can justify certain restrictions on minors' access to online platforms.

The problem was the method the French lawmakers chose. The ban applied to virtually all children under 15 and to social media in general, without making sufficient distinctions between platforms based on their functions, content, level of risk, and the protective measures they provide.

The Constitutional Council concluded that such a broad measure disproportionately restricted freedom of expression and communication.

Age verification also became a problem

The second important concern relates to user privacy. To keep children under 15 away from social media, platforms would have to reliably determine the age of users.

However, according to the Constitutional Council, the law did not establish adequate legal guarantees for how such verification should be conducted and how personal data would be protected in the process.

This is especially important because age verification would in fact apply not only to children. To distinguish an adult user from a minor, the platform would need to confirm in some way the age of every person subject to the check.

Why social media are considered part of freedom of communication

In its decision, the Constitutional Council relied on the freedom of expression and communication guaranteed by French law. Social media today are used not only for entertainment. Through them people communicate, receive information, participate in public debate, and disseminate their own ideas.

Therefore, a total ban on access to such services affects fundamental rights even when the state pursues the legitimate goal of protecting minors. From the court's perspective, restrictions are possible, but they must be more precise and proportionate to the risks.

What will happen now with the ban

French President Emmanuel Macron has already said he is not abandoning the idea. After the Constitutional Council's decision, he instructed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to prepare a new legal framework as quickly as possible.

It must take into account both the Constitutional Council's decision and European Union law. The Élysée Palace said Macron still intends to have the reform implemented by spring 2027.

Thus, this is not a final rejection by France of age restrictions for social media, but a need to rewrite the mechanism of the ban.

Why the issue proved more complex than a simple age limit

The French debate points to one of the main challenges faced by countries trying to restrict children's access to social media. Setting an age on paper is relatively simple. It is much harder to make digital platforms reliably verify it without collecting excessive personal data from users.

There is also the question of which services should be considered social media. TikTok or Instagram clearly fall under this definition, but for YouTube, messengers, gaming platforms and other services social functions may be only one part of the product.

Moreover, different platforms may pose different risks to children. The absence of such differentiation was one of the reasons the French Constitutional Council found the adopted provision overly broad.

What this means for children and parents in France

The main practical consequence of the decision is that from September 1 there will be no general ban according to which social media would have had to block new accounts of users under 15. Also, the related requirement to close existing accounts solely on the basis of the legal age threshold will not apply.

However, the Constitutional Council's decision concerns specifically the key article on access to social media and does not mean automatic annulment of all other provisions of the law.

Now the French authorities must develop a new model that can simultaneously protect children, take into account differences between platforms, and avoid excessive interference with freedom of expression and privacy. Therefore, the story of the French ban is not over. But the initial plan — to introduce a general ban on social media for all children under 15 at the start of the school year — will not be implemented.

Based on materials from: Conseil constitutionnel, Élysée, Associated Press