France to ban social media for under-15s? Macron aims for Australia-like law by September

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said he wants a proposed social media ban on the country's under-15 population to be implemented by September, at the start of the next school year, and has asked his government to “accelerate” the legislative process in this regard."I have asked the government to activate the accelerated procedure so it can go as quickly as possible. I want it to be applied from the start of the next school year, in September," AFP quoted Macron as saying.He further stated that, apart from the social media ban, he is also backing a prohibition on students carrying mobile phones to schools.“The brains of our children and our adolescents are not for sale or for manipulation — not by US platforms, not by Chinese algorithms,” the French president remarked.France’s lawmakers have been debating the bill for such a ban, with their draft legislation set to be submitted to the French parliament on Monday.In December 2025, Australia became the first country to ban children under the age of 16 from using popular platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The law does not penalise users; instead, social media companies are required to prevent the under-16s from having accounts on their platforms or face hefty fines.