No social media for children: France passes bill to restrict under-15s; know the countries that have banned platforms for kids

France's National Assembly passed a bill to bar children under 15 from using social media to protect them from online bullying and mental health impacts. The legislation, which restrict use of mobile phones in high schools, was passed with a vote of 130 to 21 in the lower house after lengthy discussion. However, it will now go to the Senate, France's upper house, ahead of becoming law.

President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the cause, flagged social media as a factor to blame for rising violence among young people and cited Australia's example, which became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using social media platfoms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube in December last year.

Macron lauded the vote in favour of restriction as a major step towards ensuring protections of French children and teenagers froms ills of social media. "The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, either by American platforms or Chinese algorithms," he said.

With social media becoming ubiquitous, the dangers of too much sceentime hindring development of children and causing mental health issue beame a major concern for parents. France's public health watchdog ANSES claimed that social media such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram are found to have a detrimental effect on adoloscents especially girls.

Rising concerns over cyberbullying and exposure to violent content prompted countries across the world to take strict action against social media use, while Australia became the first country to impose a strict ban. Several other nations, including the European Union, the United Kingdom and Malaysia, are considering similar restrictions.

Australia: The world-first total ban

Australia’s landmark law officially prohibits anyone under 16 from holding accounts on major platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X. Since its enforcement began in late 2025, over 4.7 million accounts have already been deactivated. Platforms face massive fines of up to $50 million for failing to take "reasonable steps" to prevent underage access.

United Kingdom: Parliamentary pressure

The UK's House of Lords recently voted in favour of a landmark amendment to ban social media for those under 16. This legislative move complements the government’s active three-month consultation on "phone curfews" and enhanced age-verification standards, signalling a shift toward strict prohibition.

Malaysia and Norway: Strict statutory limits

Malaysia has announced a nationwide ban for children under 16, scheduled for July 2026, utilising government-ID-based digital verification (eKYC). Similarly, Norway recently raised its statutory age limit from 13 to 15, citing the urgent need to protect developing minds from addictive design features and harmful algorithms.

United States (Virginia): The one-hour mandate

While a federal ban remains absent in the U.S., Virginia launched a unique law on January 1, 2026. Rather than an outright ban, it mandates a one-hour daily limit for users under 16, requiring "verifiable parental consent" for any extensions.