Lucrezia Ciotti France reintroduces its ban on social media for children under 15 after its rejection by the Constitutional Council. Emmanuel Macron calls for common European legislation and a new national text that respects constitutional guarantees. Meanwhile, Australia is preparing additional protection requirements for digital platforms, with fines of up to $78 million for companies that fail to adequately protect young people.
Australia: Big Tech Firms Face Fines of Up to $78 Million
Australia is aiming to strengthen obligations for digital companies . Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled a Digital Duty of Care proposal that would require services like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to protect users from harmful content, with a particular focus on those under 18.
Risks identified include pornography, cyberbullying, content glorifying crime , and material encouraging eating disorders . The new rules would add to a world-first ban preventing under-16s from using major social networks starting at the end of 2025. Non-compliant companies could face fines of up to A$109,2 million , equivalent to approximately $78,6 million US.
The bill also allows users to opt out of feeds governed by the most powerful recommendation algorithms, choosing instead to view content from accounts they follow. " This will give Australians more choice over the platforms they use and the content they see ," Albanese explained. The proposal will be submitted for consultation with technology companies, industry associations, and civil society organizations before being presented to Parliament, expected later this year.
Social media banned for under-15s, Macron relaunches after the ban: the request to the EU Commission
France is continuing to limit young people's access to social media. Following the rejection of a national law, Emmanuel Macron asked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to promote a joint initiative to ban the use of platforms by minors under 15. In a letter dated August 29, the head of the Elysée Palace called for a " European text " capable of " protecting all children in the Union ," reiterating his desire to find a solution as early as this fall through a revised French law compatible with European law and the Constitution.
The request follows the Constitutional Council's decision of August 14, 2026, which censured Article 1 of the measure definitively approved by Parliament on July 21, shortly before its scheduled entry into force at the start of the school year. The ruling did not repeal the entire law nor exclude the possibility of introducing restrictions to protect minors: it challenged the wording of the ban , deeming it insufficiently justified with respect to freedom of expression and communication. Therefore, the other measures, including those regarding cell phones in schools, remain separate.
Macron has instructed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to prepare a new , "legally sound" text as quickly as possible , taking into account the ruling and the framework of the Union. The Elysée's stated objective is to complete the reform by spring 2027.
Age Verification and Digital Freedom: The European Issue
The most delicate issue concerns how to concretely enforce the limit : to prevent access by a fourteen-year-old, platforms must be able to verify that the user is over the age limit. However, an ill-defined age assurance system risks imposing controls on adults as well , with consequences for privacy, anonymity, and freedom of communication. The constitutional decision highlighted the need for precise guarantees, restrictions proportionate to the actual risks posed by the various services, and clearer regulation of the role of parents, including the ability to authorize or limit their children's access.
France had already introduced a digital majority threshold of 15 years in 2023 , linked to parental consent and verification systems developed with the involvement of Arcom and the CNIL; the 2026 law instead chose the more forceful path of a direct ban. At the European level, the Commission is working on tools that allow users to prove that they are over a certain age without necessarily revealing their identity or full date of birth, with the goal of making them available by the end of 2026. Anonymous proof, even through cryptographic solutions, would allow only the necessary information to be communicated to the platform, avoiding the widespread collection of identity documents.
The Digital Services Act already includes obligations to assess and reduce risks for minors; furthermore, in 2026, the Commission initiated preliminary proceedings against Meta , challenging the inadequacy of the measures adopted by Instagram and Facebook to prevent access by those under 13. The European debate therefore concerns not only the ban, but also the responsibility of companies, data protection, and the proportionality of controls.