Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron has asked the European Commission to introduce a European Union wide ban on social media access for children under 15, saying a common rule is needed to protect children across the bloc.
Macron made the request in a letter dated August 29 to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He called for new European legislation to harmonise the age limit after France's own attempt to introduce a ban was blocked by the country's Constitutional Council.
Macron said it had become necessary to go further with a European approach and establish a common ban on access to social media platforms for children under 15.
The request does not mean that the European Union has approved such a ban. It is a proposal from the French president that would need to go through the European legislative process.
France had approved legislation that would have prevented children under 15 from opening social media accounts from September 1. Existing accounts belonging to children under 15 would also have been subject to closure within four months, while platforms would have been required to use age verification measures.
However, France's Constitutional Council struck down the relevant provisions on August 14, before they could take effect.
The council found that the legislation disproportionately restricted freedom of expression and communication. It also found that the law did not provide sufficient legal safeguards for privacy in the age verification process.
The council also considered the broad scope of the proposed ban. The legislation would have applied to all social media platforms and all children under 15, without sufficiently taking account of differences between platforms, the age or maturity of children, or individual family circumstances.
The decision was a setback for Macron, who has made stronger protection for children online an important part of his policy agenda.
Macron has nevertheless said that France will continue working on a revised national law. He has asked Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to prepare a new version that takes account of the Constitutional Council's concerns and complies with both French constitutional requirements and European Union law.
At the same time, Macron is seeking a common European solution.
His proposal comes as European governments debate how far governments should go in restricting children's access to social media. Some countries support stronger legal restrictions, while others place greater emphasis on parental responsibility.
Macron is calling for a stricter approach than the phased system previously discussed at European level. Von der Leyen has said the European Union should consider measures to limit young children's access to social media, including a gradual approach based on different age groups.
The European Commission is already working on stronger protections for children online.
A special panel of experts established by von der Leyen presented its final report in July. The panel examined the challenges children face online and made recommendations on protecting minors and ensuring age appropriate use of social media and other digital services.
The Commission is also developing age verification technology. In April, it urged European Union member states to accelerate the rollout of an age verification application, with the aim of making it available to citizens by the end of 2026.
The system is designed to allow people to prove that they meet an age requirement without unnecessarily revealing their identity or exact age. The Commission says privacy and data protection are central to the system.
The technology could become important if European countries introduce new legal age limits for social media.
Australia has already introduced restrictions on social media accounts for children under 16, providing an important international example in the debate. France's proposed limit is lower, at 15.
However, an EU wide ban would face political and legal questions before it could become law.
The European Commission would first need to develop and propose legislation. Any new law would then have to be considered and adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
It also remains unclear which services would be covered by a future under 15 restriction and exactly how such a rule would be enforced.
Macron's request therefore represents a new push for a common European age limit rather than an EU ban that is already in force.
The proposal puts further pressure on the European Commission to decide how far it is prepared to go in restricting children's access to social media while balancing child safety, privacy and freedom of expression.