Overview
- France's Constitutional Council struck down Article 1 of the law on Friday, August 14, 2026, ruling the blanket ban on under-15s was not appropriate, necessary, or proportionate to protect free expression and communication.
- The court said the bill would have required every user to prove their age and that lawmakers failed to spell out conditions and legal safeguards for those age-verification checks, creating privacy and data‑security risks.
- President Emmanuel Macron ordered Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to redraw a 'legally robust' bill that addresses the council's objections and fits European law, with the presidency targeting enactment before spring 2027.
- Both houses of Parliament had already approved the measure and it would have barred under-15s from major apps and tightened school phone rules, though the council did not strike down the separate ban on phones in high schools.
- The ruling highlights practical enforcement limits and circumvention risks for age gates, raises questions about parental authorization and platform‑specific risk assessments, and places France's plan in the wider European debate on youth online safety.