Paris, August 14 (QNA) - France's Constitutional Council has rejected legislation banning children under the age of 15 from accessing social media platforms, ruling that the measure, in its proposed form, could not be implemented without sufficient legal safeguards.
In a statement issued Friday, the council said restricting access to certain online services for users under 15 would, by its nature, require all users, including adults, to verify their age before gaining access. It stressed that the measure did not, in principle, constitute an infringement on freedom of expression.
The council said the legislation failed to establish the conditions and limits governing age verification, meaning lawmakers had not provided the necessary legal safeguards to ensure that the requirements would respect users' rights.
It also noted that the exemptions included in the legislation - particularly those covering online encyclopedias and educational and scientific resources - were too narrowly defined.
Following the ruling, French President Emmanuel Macron tasked Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu with preparing a new draft law that would be legally robust while taking into account the Constitutional Council's decision and the broader European regulatory framework.
Macron said he remained committed to completing the reform by spring 2027.
The French Parliament had given final approval on July 21 to legislation banning social media access for children under 15. The law had been scheduled to take effect in September as part of efforts to protect children and adolescents online. (QNA)