French Constitutional Court Strikes Down Social Media Ban for Minors

France overturns social media ban for minors under 15

The French Constitutional Council has struck down the law banning social media for minors under 15, a measure that was due to enter into force in September and would have made France the first EU country to apply such a restriction. The decision, announced this Friday, holds that the measure constitutes a “disproportionate abusa” of freedom of expression. The text had been challenged late last July by the Insurgent France (La France Insoumise), Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party.

The ruling is not only a setback for Macron, who had made this ban one of his flagship promises before leaving office. It also casts doubt on the digital identity control model being developed in Brussels. In economic forums, some suggest that the true objective was not protecting minors but establishing a mandatory identification system to access the internet, with the digital euro as a backdrop.

The coincidence with the rejection of circulation restrictions in cities, overturned last year, suggests that the French Constitutional Council is unwilling to accept any form of control.

In Spain, the comparison is inevitable. While the French Constitutional Council acts as a counterbalance, here the debate on regulating social media remains stuck between prohibition and applause. However, this decision does not close the debate: the EU continues to push for tighter control over digital identity, and the battle is far from over. It remains to be seen whether other European countries will dare trinc the French example or if the digital euro will impose what the Constitutional Council has halted.