Europe

Macron Plans to Ban Social Media for Under-15s

Published JUN 11 2025

Story

Above: French President Emmanuel Macron at the 22nd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue on May 30 in Singapore. Image credit: Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images AsiaPac via Getty Images

The Facts

French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to ban social media for children under 15 within "a few months" if the EU does not implement bloc-wide regulations, after a 14-year-old student killed a teaching assistant during a routine bag check at a school in Nogent, Haute-Marne on Tuesday.
EuroNews
Politico
The European Commission (EC) responded that EU-wide social media bans are not under consideration, with a spokesperson stating that setting a "digital majority age" remains a member state competence under the General Data Protection Regulation.
Politico
Euractiv
Audiovisual
Seven countries, including France, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Slovenia, have jointly urged the EC to create stronger age verification mechanisms and consider setting an EU digital majority age of 15. Denmark plans to prioritize child protection discussions during its upcoming EU presidency.
Euractiv
Eunews
France has already implemented age verification requirements for pornographic websites, prompting Pornhub's parent company to block French users, while authorities plan to extend similar verification to online knife sales and classify certain social media platforms as adult content.
Franceinfo
Politico
Prime Minister François Bayrou announced that France will ban knife sales to minors within two weeks, covering "any knife that can be used as a weapon," while Education Minister Élisabeth Borne called for a minute of silence in all French schools to honor the murdered teaching assistant.
EuroNews
France 24
The EC is developing EU-wide guidelines for platform compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) regarding minor protection to be published this year and working on an age verification app to be trialed by five countries, including France, and completed by the end of 2026.
Eunews
Politico
Shaping Europe’s digital future

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The Spin

Narrative A

Social media is addictive, distracting, and often harmful or even dangerous for children. It feeds us curated facades, and exposes users to toxic content children are not yet equipped to process. If adults struggle to manage it, how can we expect kids to? A social media ban gives children time to grow up before facing a world they’re not yet ready to navigate.

Women's Health

USA Today

Narrative B

Banning social media for children is a blunt, harmful move. These platforms are vital spaces for young people to learn and connect with peers. A ban won’t stop harmful content, it’ll just push teens to darker corners of the internet. We need smarter regulation, not digital exile. Listen to young voices, don’t silence them.