The French Constitutional Council struck down legislation that would have banned people under 15 from using social media, a ban that was scheduled to take effect in January 2027. The decision followed an examination of the law’s compatibility with the French Constitution, particularly with regard to freedom of expression and communication and the right to privacy.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) described the decision as a victory for freedom of expression in an opinion article published on August 26, 2026. The organization argues that the issue does not concern minors alone, because implementing the ban would have made access to the platforms conditional on verification procedures affecting all users, including adults.
Why Did the Constitutional Council Reject the Law?
The Council focused on the fact that a blanket ban on people under 15 restricts freedom of expression and communication in a manner that does not meet the standards of suitability, necessity, and proportionality imposed by Article 34 of the French Constitution. It also noted that the legislation did not distinguish between different types of digital services and did not take into account users’ individual circumstances, such as their exact age, level of maturity, and family situation.
According to EFF, this point is important because a general ban could block digital spaces that serve roles extending beyond entertainment. Some young people, particularly those belonging to marginalized groups or the LGBTQ community, may rely on these platforms to access news and health information, find supportive communities, and explore their identities. The organization says that isolating them digitally could deprive them of resources that are not readily available in their immediate surroundings.
EFF also criticizes what it describes as the failure to consider young people’s own preference for solutions based on digital literacy and education rather than government surveillance and control. It adds that banning platforms could weaken online anonymity, which it considers an element that protects whistleblowers, journalists, activists, and migrants.
Age Verification Also Affects Adults
The Council also objected to requiring proof of age before allowing anyone, including adults, to access social networks. It found that this requirement infringes on the right to privacy under Article 2 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
In practice, such rules could prompt platforms to request government identification documents, facial images, or other sensitive data. If parental consent were required, companies could collect additional data about parents or guardians. EFF argues that expanding the scope of this data links child protection to a verification and surveillance infrastructure covering society as a whole, not only the targeted age group.
The organization also points out that age-verification systems may misidentify people with disabilities, transgender people, or gender-nonconforming people when their appearance does not match the photographs on their documents, and may also result in the exclusion of people of different races. These are risks EFF raises in the context of its argument, and the source provides no statistical details for measuring their scale.
What Changes in Practice?
The Council’s decision does not mean the end of France’s legislative effort. French President Emmanuel Macron has tasked Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu with redrafting the law in order to produce a “legally robust” version. Therefore, the current development is the invalidation of the version presented, not a resolution of the political debate over restricting minors’ access to platforms.
The decision also affects the European debate. The European Commission is working on a draft law imposing access restrictions at the European Union level, and these restrictions may require age-verification mechanisms. EFF warns that the European Digital Identity Wallet and the “mini age verification” application, despite being presented as privacy-preserving options, raise, in its view, serious questions concerning privacy and security.
certi.news’s Take
The decision’s real significance lies not merely in rejecting one ban, but in showing that digital-policy design cannot separate the protection of minors from the rights of other users. Any solution based on proof of age could change the nature of internet access and increase the amount of data that platforms, the state, or verification providers must handle.
At the same time, the source does not establish that an alternative ban or age verification is technically impossible, nor does it provide details of the version France might adopt later. The open question is whether the redraft will genuinely address the objections concerning proportionality and privacy, or whether it will reintroduce the same objective through a different verification mechanism. The confirmed message from the decision, according to EFF’s presentation, is that protecting young people does not automatically grant a mandate to expand surveillance or restrict freedom of expression for everyone.