France's Constitutional Council struck down a law that would have banned social media access for children under 15, ruling that it infringed on freedom of expression and failed to protect the right to privacy. The court found that requiring age verification for under-15s would effectively force all users, including adults, to prove their age before accessing platforms, and that the law applied too broadly to all social media services and minors without distinction. President Macron has said he will work on a revised version of the legislation.
Left-leaning outlets (The Guardian, Le Monde) similarly report the factual outcome—court blocked the ban citing freedom of expression and privacy—framing it as a political setback for Macron, with Le Monde emphasizing the legal reasoning (the law applied to all platforms and minors 'without distinction') and Macron's plan for a new bill before his term ends.
Center outlets (BBC, DW, France 24) report the ruling as straightforward news: the Constitutional Council struck down the under-15 ban on free-expression and privacy/age-verification grounds, Macron has ordered a revised bill, and they place the decision in the context of a broader European and global trend toward child social media restrictions (Australia, UK, EU).
Reason (libertarian-leaning) frames the ruling as a positive win for 'online freedom' and uses it as a springboard to criticize broader government efforts to regulate the internet, drawing parallels to US state and federal legislation (Texas age-verification laws, KOSA) and warning about risks to free expression from age-gating and content moderation mandates.