French President Emmanuel Macron urged the European Commission to write a single, bloc-wide law that would bar children below age 15 from social media platforms.
His call, delivered from Paris, targets stronger shielding for minors from dangers such as cyberbullying, addictive design, inappropriate content, and fractured sleep or routines.
Rather than a patchwork of national rules, Macron argued that common European standards would give governments better leverage. A unified age limit, he said, would push tech companies to verify ages more aggressively and take real responsibility for underage users.
The French proposal arrives as regulators worldwide face rising pressure to curb early exposure to major platforms. Parents, pediatric groups, and child safety advocates have reported growing harm linked to heavy social media use among tweens and early teens.
Macron supports replacing today’s uneven national restrictions with one enforceable minimum age across the EU. He believes that approach would force platforms to build stronger safeguards for minors. It would also simplify compliance for companies navigating different laws in member states.
As a result, the measure will likely fuel intense debate in Brussels. European lawmakers have already signaled openness to stricter digital protections for minors. Meanwhile, tech industry representatives warn that EU-wide age gates may prove technically difficult to enforce without invasive identity checks.
The initiative now moves toward European institutions. If drafted and adopted, it could reshape how millions of young people across the continent interact with social networks and shift the compliance burden squarely onto platform operators.
