France has approved a law banning social media access for children under the age of 15 from January 2027, becoming the first European country to adopt the measure pioneered by Australia.

The legislation was signed after both the French Senate and National Assembly passed the ban on Tuesday, despite criticism from some over privacy, the reliability of age-verification tools and the risks of young people bypassing them.

Under the new law, individuals under the age of 15 will be prohibited from opening new accounts from September, with age verification becoming mandatory for all new accounts.

The requirement will be extended to all existing accounts from January 2027, meaning that everyone in France will have to prove they are over 15 to use social media.

Despite opposition from some on the left, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the development amid concerns about the impact of social media on children’s cognitive development.

“Digital majority: France leads the way,” said Anne Le Hénanff, France’s minister for artificial intelligence and digital affairs. “France will be the first country in Europe to establish a digital majority.”

“We left you in this jungle, and it robbed you of your attention,” Mr Macron told teenagers in April. “We need to slow down and help you become adults and, above all, citizens.”

“That’s why what we want to do is say that before 15 years old, no more social media,” he said at the April event.