France's Top Court Blocks Social Media Ban For Under-15s

France's top court on Friday blocked ?a bill banning social media access for under-15s, saying it infringed upon freedom of ?expression and delivering a setback for President Emmanuel Macron, who asked his government to rewrite the legislation. 

The bill would have barred children younger than 15 from opening a social media account from September 1. Accounts already open would be ?closed within four months by social media platforms, which would also need to use age ?verification approved by the French



privacy regulator.

But France's Constitutional Council found that the ?bill, while requiring everyone to give proof of age, failed "to specify the conditions and limits" under ?which it should be provided, as well as infringing on freedoms and privacy. "The Council holds that the ?contested provisions, on the one hand, disproportionately infringe upon the freedom of expression and communication and, on the other, fail to provide the legal safeguards necessary to ensure the right to respect for private life," it said.