After France’s failed attempt, who will be first to shape Europe’s answer to children and social media?

French judges have struck down president Emmanuel Macron’s pioneering social-media ban for minors, posing hard questions for a planned EU roll-out of similar measures. The Constitutional Council in Paris failed to pass his age-restriction bill on social media for under-15s in a ruling last Friday (14 August), on grounds of the vagueness of its details. They also said it breached the French constitution’s rights to freedom of speech and private life, citing an age-verification mechanism that was not properly designed. The French National Assembly had passed the measure by 279 votes to 81 on 21 July, in an effort to protect young people from the storied anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, child predators, and online harassment that come with minors infinitely scrolling on devices. The blanket ban proposed by Macron’s government had been argued against by parties on the left for placing the burden of compliance on children rather than the US social-media leviathans doing the harm. “Such a ban is neither necessary, appropriate, nor proportionate to the objective pursued, while other, less restrictive measures would protect minors,” France’s top court said. The Elysée reacted in a statement that the Macron remained “fully committed to bringing this reform to fruition by spring 2027,” as a legacy measure at the end of his mandate, rather than 1 September this year, as originally planned. Macron also tasked his PM, Sébastien Lecornu, to work “as quickly as possible” on a new draft that took into account the Constitutional Court's gripes. Ball in Brussels' court And even parties who had initially contested the measure still held that “a firm stance towards platforms to protect young people and regulate their sordid business is more necessary than ever,” according to opposition socialist MP Arthur Delaporte. “We are aware of the dangers they pose and their deadly algorithms. It is these harmful features that must be combated. At European level, initiatives are in place: France must exert its influence to ensure they are implemented as quickly as possible,” Delaporte told EUobserver.