Social media ban for under-15s: Why everyone in France will soon have to verify their age
The ban on social media for those under 15, approved in a first reading by the Assemblée nationale (France's lower house of parliament) on January 26, does not only affect teenagers. To be effective, age-control measures must also be applied to adults. Here is an overview of the likely changes ahead. When and how will the age of social media users be verified? According to the timeline proposed by the French government, any new account created on a social media platform will require age verification starting in September. Platforms will then be required to verify the age of all existing users before the end of 2026. The law does not mandate a specific tool for this process. Authorities simply recommend using so-called "double anonymity" methods, which are considered privacy-protective: A third-party organization (such as a specialized company or mobile operator) is responsible for analyzing your ID. Each platform will be able to choose its own tool, but it is highly likely that, over time, the application being developed by the European Commission, currently under testing, will become the standard, both in France and across Europe. In most cases, users will need to verify their age only once. However, if you want to browse a social network without logging in – for example, to watch a YouTube video on a shared computer – you will likely have to prove you are over 15 every time you connect. Is it easy to verify age? It varies. Some software using facial recognition only requires users to briefly record themselves, but these technologies have been the subject of criticism. The application tested by the European Commission asks users to scan an identity document and then film their face to confirm the match – the app does not retain the user's identity, only their age. To use the app outside a smartphone, users must scan a QR code on the relevant website and enter a password. While not extremely complicated, these steps may be challenging for those uncomfortable with smartphones. You have 51.48% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
