French Assembly Approves Bill To Ban Social Media For Under-15s, Macron Pushes September Start

The lower National Assembly adopted the text by a vote of 130 to 21 in a lengthy overnight session from Monday to Tuesday.

Macron hailed the vote as a "major step" to protect French children and teenagers in a post on X.

The legislation, which also provides for a ban on mobile phones in high schools, would make France the second country to take such a step following Australia's ban for under-16s in December.

As social media has grown, so has concern that too much screen time is harming child development and contributing to mental health problems.