PARIS – The French Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill on protecting minors from the risks associated with the use of social media.

The bill is intended to prohibit children under the age of 15 from accessing social media and protect them from anxiety-inducing or harmful content, and the relevant provisions will take effect on Sept 1 this year.

The social media services covered by the legislation include Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, as well as services that allow users to interact, publicly disseminate content or participate in user communities. Online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia, and educational or scientific repositories, are excluded.

"Social media will be banned for children under 15 from the start of the new school year. It is now up to the Constitutional Council to rule, before we move on to implementation to make this measure a reality and protect our children online," French President Emmanuel Macron said on X.

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A study published by Public Health France in 2025 showed that in 2022, children aged three to five in metropolitan France spent an average of one hour and 22 minutes per day using screens. The figure was one hour and 53 minutes for children aged six to eight, and two hours and 33 minutes for those aged nine to 11.