Social media age bans: France and Britain are weighing tougher limits on children’s access to social media, looking to Australia’s new under-16 restrictions as a template, even as researchers and clinicians remain divided over whether age bans will deliver measurable mental-health benefits.
Australia recently moved to bar under-16s from major platforms, and early compliance figures suggest companies have begun tightening access. The country’s online safety regulator said platforms removed access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children under 16 in the first half of December, after the minimum-age obligation took effect on December 10.
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In Europe, France is debating proposals that would restrict social media for children under 15, with one bill backed by President Emmanuel Macron. In Britain, the government has signalled it is considering an Australia-style approach, alongside possible limits on features critics say encourage compulsive use, such as infinite scrolling and “streaks.”
The policy push is being driven by concern that heavy social media use is contributing to rising anxiety, depression and other problems among adolescents. Supporters of tighter rules argue that even modest harms can become significant when spread across large populations, and that reducing exposure during formative years is a reasonable public-health bet.
Others argue the evidence base is more complicated than the political debate suggests. They point to research indicating that outcomes vary by age, sex, how much a teen uses social platforms, and what they do online, raising the risk that blanket restrictions could help some young people while inadvertently hurting others, especially those who rely on online spaces for social connection.
A large Australian study published this month in JAMA Paediatrics tracked more than 100,000 students and found a U-shaped pattern: adolescents reporting moderate after-school social media use tended to show the best well-being outcomes, while both heavy use and no use were linked to poorer well-being. The findings also suggested differences by sex and developmental stage, with nonuse becoming more strongly associated with low well-being for boys in later adolescence.
In France, the public health watchdog ANSES has taken a position that sits between the poles. In a recent opinion, ANSES said social media is not the sole driver of worsening teen mental health but that its negative effects are “numerous,” particularly for girls, and are shaped by platform design choices such as algorithms and persuasive features.
With Australia now effectively serving as a live test case, some researchers say the clearest answers may come from real-world results rather than further argument. The next year is expected to bring closer scrutiny of enforcement, workarounds, and whether restricting access changes sleep, stress, bullying exposure, or other measurable outcomes, as well as any unintended consequences for teens who lose a primary channel for communication and community.