The news: France passed a landmark ruling that will ban social media for children under 15, the first country in the European Union to do so. France’s parliament approved the legislation by 279 votes to 81.

• Beginning in September, users under 15 will no longer be allowed to create new social media accounts.
• Existing accounts will be blocked beginning in January 2027. Social platforms will be required to provide age verification checks.
• The new law also bans phones in high schools beginning next year.

The law builds on mounting international concern. France’s public health watchdog linked social media to poorer teen mental health, and Australia’s social media ban triggered similar proposals worldwide.

Public backing meets enforcement doubts: Public support is strong, but enforcement challenges fuel doubts about whether bans can work.

• In countries like the US, support for child social media bans is high: Over half (56%) of US adults 18 and up support bans for under-16s, per Pew Research Center.
• A December 2025 CivicScience study backed this sentiment, with 74% of US adults supporting limits on collecting children’s personal data and 61% backing mandatory age verification.
• But opponents of social bans argue that enforcement difficulties make bans ineffective. There is truth to that: Researchers found that a majority of Australian teens were still able to continue using platforms uninterrupted, often by lying about their age or passing through age verification tests undetected.
• 70% of Australian teens were still accessing banned platforms months after legislation was implemented, according to online safety regulator eSafety.

Implications for marketers: If child social media bans prove effective, brands could lose a key channel for building familiarity and preference among younger consumers before they enter major spending years. That would be especially disruptive for companies that rely on social platforms to shape tastes, habits, and brand affinity early.

Weak enforcement creates a different risk. If underage users remain active despite age restrictions, marketers may build campaigns around inaccurate audience data and assume they are reaching older consumers. That could distort targeting, measurement, and brand-safety decisions.

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