French President Emmanuel Macron has renewed his call for an EU-wide ban on social media for children under 15, saying online protection for minors must become a common European standard.
Depuis le premier jour, j’ai pris un engagement : protéger nos enfants en ligne.
Nous irons au bout.
À la suite de la décision rendue par le Conseil constitutionnel à la mi-août sur l’interdiction des réseaux sociaux aux moins de 15 ans, j’avais chargé le Premier ministre…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 14, 2026
In a post on X, Macron said, “From the very first day, I committed to protect our children online. We will see it through to the end.”
Macron said France’s government has prepared revised wording for the proposed ban after the Constitutional Council raised observations in mid-August. The government has now notified the European Commission following technical work to ensure the measure complies with European law.
He also called for European-level rules on certain platform features to strengthen child protection and thanked EU officials, parliamentarians and countries backing the initiative.
France had voted in July to ban social media access for under-15s, making it the first EU country to introduce such an age limit, according to CNN.
Meanwhile, the UK announced plans in June for a ban covering under-16s. Japan has proposed stricter age verification, while Australia has already implemented a social media ban for under-16s. Spain and Denmark are also considering similar measures.
