According to TechSpot, France’s National Assembly passed a bill late Monday night by a vote of 130 to 21. The legislation would prohibit social media access for children under 15 and impose a blanket ban on mobile phone use in high schools. President Emmanuel Macron, who campaigned for it, called the vote a major step for child safety and urged the Senate to fast-track it. The bill must now pass the Senate and could take effect by the start of the next school year in September. This follows Australia, which passed similar bipartisan legislation last month setting a mandatory minimum age of 16 for social media accounts. Within days of Australia’s law taking effect on December 10, platforms deleted or deactivated at least 4.7 million accounts believed to belong to minors.
The Global Crackdown Trend
So here’s the thing: this isn’t just a French experiment. It’s looking more and more like the start of a coordinated, Western democratic pushback. Australia blazed the trail, France is now sprinting down it, and TechSpot notes that Germany, Denmark, Spain, and Italy are all actively considering their own versions. We’re witnessing a fundamental policy shift. For years, the conversation was about parental controls and self-regulation by tech giants. That’s over. Now, it’s about state-mandated age gates and outright bans. The bipartisan nature of the votes in both Australia and France is especially telling. When politicians from across the spectrum agree on something related to tech, you know public sentiment has reached a boiling point.
The Enforcement Question
But let’s get real for a second. How on earth do you enforce this? Australia’s early result—4.7 million accounts gone—sounds impressive. Basically, it seems the threat of massive fines (up to A$50 million) got the platforms to do a massive, blunt-force cleanup. But was that a one-time purge? And what stops a determined 14-year-old from just lying about their age? The old “credit card” verification method is notoriously flimsy. The next logical, and deeply controversial, step would be some form of digital ID or age verification, which opens a whole other can of privacy worms. France and other EU countries might be forced to go there. I think the real test will be in six months, when the initial frenzy dies down. Will those deleted accounts stay deleted, or will they just slowly creep back?
Macron’s Big Gamble
President Macron’s rhetoric is fascinating. He’s framing this not just as a safety issue, but as a cultural and economic sovereignty battle. His line about children’s emotions not being “for sale or to be manipulated by American and Chinese corporations” is a powerful political message. It ties child protection to broader European anxieties about tech dominance by the US and China. He’s also making a very clear, values-based argument: that childhood should be algorithm-free. Whether you agree with the method or not, it’s a stark contrast to the often profit-driven “move fast and break things” ethos of Silicon Valley. This law, if passed, could become a model he exports across the EU, solidifying a distinctly European approach to digital life.
The Inevitable Pushback
Now, expect major backlash. Civil liberties groups will argue this is overreach, that it stifles free expression and access to information for teens, and that it punishes responsible use for the sins of the irresponsible. Some will also point out the social cost—what about teens who use these platforms for supportive communities, especially LGBTQ+ youth? And then there’s the practical reality for schools. A blanket phone ban sounds simple, but enforcing it in hallways and lunchrooms is a huge logistical burden for teachers and administrators. The road from a parliamentary vote to smooth, accepted daily practice is incredibly long and bumpy. But the direction of travel is now unmistakable. The era of the wild west for kids on social media is closing, and governments are building the fences.
