France’s top court strikes down social media ban for under-15s

France's Constitutional Council struck down the country's ban on social media for under-15s on 14 August, ruling that its age-verification mechanism would force all users, including adults, to prove their age, violating the right to privacy. The Council supported protecting children but found the law's provision too broad and its verification requirement incompatible with privacy rights.

The ruling comes as India moves in the opposite direction. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have announced age-based bans, Goa is considering one, and the Centre is preparing a graded framework across three age brackets. MediaNama reports that each of these proposals depends on the same age-verification step France's court found unworkable.

At two MediaNama roundtables, speakers warned that age verification inevitably applies to everyone, with MediaNama founder Nikhil Pahwa noting that in India, all verification collapses into Aadhaar. Speakers also cited evidence from Australia, where 70% of restricted under-16s stayed on platforms and VPN usage rose 170%, and the UK, where 32% of children bypassed age checks.