Countries move to ban social media for children
Wednesday, 22 July 2026
PARIS, France, July 21 (AFP): Lawmakers in France are scheduled to vote on Tuesday to ban social media for under-15s -- one of 20 countries worldwide to have proposed or introduced such measures.
Five of those countries have restrictions already in force, according to an AFP tally.
Here are facts about the measures in different countries.
Social media has been banned for under-16s in Australia since December 2025.
Brazil introduced a law in March requiring platforms to link the accounts of users aged under-16 to those of their parents, while also requiring platforms to verify users' ages.
In China, where the internet is tightly regulated by the state, minors' access to social media has been restricted progressively since 2019.
Initial measures imposed time limits and curfews on online gaming, before similar restrictions were extended in 2023 to social media and streaming platforms.
Indonesia has banned social media for under-16s since March.