Doha: 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.

According to Qatar News Agency, the council stated that restricting access to certain online services for users under 15 would require all users, including adults, to verify their age before gaining access. It emphasized that the measure did not, in principle, infringe on freedom of expression.

The council pointed out that the legislation did not establish the conditions and limits governing age verification, indicating that lawmakers had not provided the necessary legal safeguards to ensure that the requirements would respect users' rights.

Additionally, the council 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 considering the Constitutional Council's decision and the broader European regulatory framework.

Macron expressed his commitment 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, which was scheduled to take effect in September as part of efforts to protect children and adolescents online.