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INDIA PERSPECTIVE
FRANCE BANS SOCIAL MEDIA FOR UNDER-15S, A FIRST IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
DOMINANT ANGLE
New Delhi views the scope of the French law as a textbook regulatory case, rather than an immediate national debate
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
ANALYSIS
New Delhi, July 22, 2026. India's government is taking note of the French Parliament's adoption of a law banning access to social media for those under 15, a first in Europe. The Senate voted on the text on Tuesday, with the National Assembly set to follow suit, after a compromise was reached in a joint committee on Monday. The Times of India cites Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff, who says France is becoming "the first country in Europe to introduce a digital age limit to better protect our children online." President Emmanuel Macron, who has made this text a flagship reform of his last term, has promised it will come into effect as early as September.
The measure consists of two stages: blocking the creation of new accounts for those under 15 starting September 1, and then extending it to existing accounts in January 2027, with exceptions for online encyclopedias and educational platforms. Social media networks will have to use age verification tools validated by the French privacy regulator. The Free Press Journal details the tensions in the legislative process: the National Assembly wanted to cover all social media, while the Senate preferred a blacklist of targeted platforms; the text also provides for a ban on mobile phones in high schools. The law cannot come into effect before August 10, due to the notification period required by European law, and Brussels has deemed the current version not fully compatible with the Digital Services Act, asking Paris to amend it.
Indian media are placing the measure in a broader movement: more than twenty countries have already legislated on minors' access to social media, with Australia having paved the way in December by imposing the deletion of accounts for those under 16, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen advocates for "progressive and gradual" access. For a country like India, where digital platforms have hundreds of millions of young users, the French experience is seen as a test case: that of a state attempting to impose technical age verification on globalized digital giants, with legal resistance at the European level.
KEY POINTS
- India's government is set to implement a two-step process: blocking new accounts for those under 15 starting September 1, 2026, and extending the rule to existing accounts in January 2027
- India's Minister of Digital Affairs claims a European first: "the first European country to introduce a digital age limit"
- The law cannot come into effect before August 10 (EU notification deadline) and the European Commission deems the text not fully compatible with the Digital Services Act
COGNITIVE BIASES IDENTIFIED
India's government is not the focus of the articles, which instead detail the French legislative calendar without exploring potential implications for Indian regulation
New Delhi's reactions receive limited coverage, with no official response from the Indian government or local associations reported on this law
The Indian capital's perspective is overshadowed by a preference for European institutional sources, such as ministers and the Commission, over the voices of platforms or digital freedom advocacy groups
SOURCES (2)
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