{"id":666594,"date":"2026-01-01T10:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666594\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T10:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:07:15","slug":"france-to-follow-australia-with-social-media-ban-for-under-15s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666594\/","title":{"rendered":"France to follow Australia with social media ban for under-15s"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                                        <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"France to follow Australia with social media ban for under-15s\" title=\"France to follow Australia with social media ban for under-15s\" class=\"cover-card-img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/l85320260101124431.jpeg\"\/><br \/>\n                                                                                Draft bill also includes ban on mobile phones in high schools<\/p>\n<p>    What&#8217;s the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/news\/world\/france\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">France<\/a> is set to follow in Australia&#8217;s footsteps by banning social media platforms for children from the beginning of the 2026 academic year.<br \/>\nThe move comes after <a href=\" https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/news\/world\/australia \" rel=\"noopener\">Australia<\/a>&#8216;s successful implementation of a similar ban on under-16s in December.<br \/>\nThe proposed legislation will be submitted for legal checks and is expected to be debated in parliament in the coming weeks.\n    <\/p>\n<p>    Draft bill includes ban on mobile phones in high schools<\/p>\n<p class=\"content\">The draft bill, which has been finalized, proposes two key measures: a ban on social media for under-15s and a ban on mobile phones in high schools. The latter would apply to students aged 15-18.<br \/>\n    Primary and middle schools have already enforced a similar phone ban.<br \/>\n    The government hopes to implement the social media restriction from September 2026.\n    <\/p>\n<p>    Draft bill highlights risks of excessive screen use<\/p>\n<p class=\"content\">The draft bill cites &#8220;the risks of excessive screen use by teenagers,&#8221; including exposure to inappropriate content, online bullying, and disrupted sleep patterns.<br \/>\n    It stresses the need to &#8220;protect future generations&#8221; from threats that could undermine their ability to thrive in a society with shared values.<br \/>\n    French President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/news\/world\/emmanuel-macron\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Emmanuel Macron<\/a> has been vocal about his support for this measure, citing concerns over increased screen time leading to lower school achievement and rising mental health problems among teens.\n    <\/p>\n<p>    Other countries consider similar social media bans<\/p>\n<p class=\"content\">France isn&#8217;t the only country considering such measures. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/news\/world\/denmark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Denmark<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/news\/world\/norway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Norway<\/a> are also mulling over social media bans, with the former hoping to implement it by 2026.<br \/>\n    Malaysia is planning a similar ban for under-16s later this year.<br \/>\n    In the UK, Labour government has kept all options open, saying &#8220;nothing is off the table&#8221; but any decision will be based on &#8220;robust evidence.&#8221;\n    <\/p>\n<p>    French minister emphasizes compatibility with European law<\/p>\n<p class=\"content\">Anne Le Henanff, the French minister for digital development and artificial intelligence, has stressed that the proposed social media ban would be &#8220;short and compatible with European law.&#8221;<br \/>\n    This includes compliance with the EU&#8217;s Digital Services Act (DSA), a regulation aimed at tackling hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation.<br \/>\n    The move is part of Macron&#8217;s larger plan to leave a lasting legacy as he enters his final year as president amid a divided parliament.\n    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Draft bill also includes ban on mobile phones in high schools What&#8217;s the story France is set to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-666594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115819292052933894","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}