France is on the verge of becoming the first country in the European Union to introduce a nationwide minimum age for access to major social media platforms after lawmakers approved a key bill aimed at keeping children under 15 off the sites.
A joint committee of members from the National Assembly and the Senate reached an agreement on the proposed legislation on Monday, paving the way for final votes in the lower house on Tuesday before it heads to the Senate. The bill is expected to pass despite opposition from some left-wing lawmakers.
If the legislation is approved, President Emmanuel Macron's government plans to enforce the new rules before the beginning of the school year in early September.
French Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff described the legislation as a major step towards improving online safety for children.
"France will become the first country in Europe to introduce a digital age limit to better protect our children online."
The proposed law would stop children under the age of 15 from opening new accounts on designated social media platforms from September 1. Accounts already belonging to users below that age would be suspended from January 2027.
The Information Technology minister will prepare the list of social media platforms that will fall under the new rules. Companies operating those platforms will also be required to introduce age verification systems approved by France's privacy regulator.
The legislation also includes a ban on smartphone use in high schools as part of wider efforts to reduce the amount of time young people spend on digital devices during learning.
France's move comes after Australia became the first country to pass a nationwide law restricting social media access for children under the age of 16. The Australian law requires platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube to remove accounts belonging to underage users or face heavy financial penalties.
The French government has also been pushing for similar measures to be adopted across the European Union.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has publicly supported stronger controls on children's access to social media, saying young people should be introduced to digital platforms gradually and in ways that match their age.
Lawmakers had initially disagreed on how the restrictions should work. The Senate proposed allowing parental consent for access to some platforms while blocking those considered harmful to children's development.
However, negotiators eventually adopted the National Assembly's proposal, which requires all designated social media platforms to deny access to users under the age of 15.
The legislation makes exceptions for educational platforms and online encyclopaedias.
French authorities say the measures are meant to address growing concerns about the effect of social media on children's wellbeing.
France's public health watchdog has previously warned that platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram can have negative effects on adolescents, especially girls, although it noted that social media is not the only reason behind declining mental health among young people.
More than 20 countries have either introduced or proposed laws to limit children's access to social media, reflecting growing global concern about online safety and the wellbeing of young users.