France banned the use of social media for children under the age of 15 on Tuesday. The bill passed in both chambers of Parliament and includes the prohibition of cell phones in high schools as well.

With this announcement, France follows in the footsteps of other countries and continents that have recently done the same, such as Australia and the U.K. Pressure grew in France to enact a ban after over half a dozen French families sued the app TikTok for “failing to moderate harmful content and exposing children to life-threatening material,” reported the Associated Press in 2025. Of the seven families, two lost children to suicide, which they claim was influenced by their children’s access to social media. 

“We’ve been campaigning for this bill from the start because, frankly, we have no other option, no other way to counter tech giants,” Gaëlle Berbonde, a woman living in Paris, told the AP. “The only thing we can do is protect our children, just as we protect our children from drinking alcohol.”

Berbonde believes her daughter’s access to TikTok as a middle schooler contributed to an eating disorder she developed, as well as the pattern of cutting herself. 

Ines Legendre, a legal adviser for the online protection group e-Enfance, admitted there are many questions that remain unanswered. “We’ll also have to address the issue of existing accounts for those under 15. How do we identify them? How do we suspend them? And then there’s the question of age verification for all new accounts that will come into effect,” she said.

The Guardian reported that the goal is that by September children under 15 will no longer be able to create social media accounts. By January 2027, the ban will apply to pre-existing accounts. “France is leading the way in Europe in protecting our children and our teenagers. We will keep on going,” President of France Emmanuel Macron insisted. 

“Thanks to the parliamentarians. It’s up to the Constitutional Council to rule, then on to action to make this measure concrete and protect our children online,” he posted on X. 

While the United States has no laws restricting social media access for children, the grassroots support for such an idea is growing. Earlier in July, the Pew Research group published a report stating that the majority of Americans support banning social media for kids under 16.

According to the survey, nearly six in 10 U.S. adults support banning anyone under the age of 16 from using social media sites. And across major demographic and partisan groups, more Americans support than oppose this. 

“As indicated, parents across the political spectrum are increasingly concerned about the profound impact social media is having on children and teenagers. The evidence linking excessive social media use to anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and other mental health challenges deserves to be taken seriously,” David Closson, director for the Center for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand.

Furthermore, 85% of adults say they would support social media companies requiring parental consent for minors to create a social media account — up from 81% in 2023, Pew noted.

“Parents, not bureaucrats, bear the primary responsibility for raising their children and should be equipped with better tools to supervise and limit their kids’ online activity,” Closson continued. “At the same time, social media companies should be held accountable for designing platforms that intentionally exploit the developing brains of young users. The goal should be to strengthen families and encourage corporate responsibility, not simply expand government control.”

Keri Boeve, director of FRC’s social media, added, “Organizations like Protect Young Eyes provide valuable tools and resources to help parents make informed decisions about their children’s social media use. God gave parents the primary responsibility and authority to raise their children, not the government. I’d love to see efforts to protect children from the harms of social media take a family-first approach.” 

Protect Young Eyes is an organization dedicated to creating safer digital spaces for minors.