FRENCH COURT BLOCKS UNDER-15 SOCIAL MEDIA BAN

The Constitutional Council ruled against the legislation that Parliament approved last month, effectively halting the proposed restriction. The decision represents a significant defeat for Macron's efforts to regulate youth social media access. The ban would have prohibited minors under 15 from accessing major social platforms without parental consent. Supporters argued the measure was necessary to protect children's mental health and development. The court's decision leaves France without the proposed age-based restrictions, though other youth protection measures remain in place. The ruling suggests constitutional concerns about the ban's scope or implementation, though specific details of the court's reasoning were not immediately detailed. France joins other European nations grappling with how to regulate social media use among teenagers. The blocked legislation had positioned France as a potential leader in youth digital protection, but the court's intervention redirects that policy debate.