January 2026

It’s been all over the Internet (of course) that France plans to ban phones and/or the internet for young people. That is absolutely not the case….and can you imagine enforcing it?

What the French government is proposing, with the support of President Emmanuel Macron, is a ban on access to social media for children under the age of 15. This would apply to platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, but not to general internet use, messaging apps, email or phone calls.

The responsibility would fall on social media companies, which would be required to verify users’ ages properly. Parents would not face penalties. The government also wants to reinforce existing rules that already limit mobile phone use during school hours.

The stated aim is to protect young people from cyberbullying, harmful content and excessive screen time, and to improve concentration and wellbeing at school.

The proposal is still under debate, and details may change. If adopted, it would not come into force before September 2026.

In brief: France is not trying to take children offline, but to keep younger teenagers off social media until they are a little older.