# France’s top court strikes down under-15 social media ban 2026-08-14T15:41:00+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 4 independent outlets France's Constitutional Council on Friday struck down a law that would have banned social media access for children under 15, ruling that it disproportionately infringed freedom of expression and failed to protect user privacy. The court said the requirement for users to prove their age before accessing platforms did not specify conditions for collecting such data, reports The Times of India. President Emmanuel Macron had championed the legislation and thanked parliament for backing it. After the ruling, he tasked Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu with rewriting the bill to address the court's objections and comply with European regulations. A growing number of countries, including Australia, China and the UAE, have introduced or proposed restrictions on young people's social media access. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com - thehindu.com - timesnownews.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: Constitutional Council, Emmanuel Macron, France, minors, social media Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/france-top-court-strikes-down-social-media-ban-for-under-15s/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/france-top-court-strikes-down-social-media-ban-for-under-15s/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.