From Paris to New Delhi, the Push to Ban Teens From Social Media Is Going Global

Great ideas to ween teens off the Heroin. Meanwhile Zuck keeps kicking ass. I fired up two charts below to illustrate.

From Paris to New Delhi, the Push to Ban Teens From Social Media Is Going Global

Leaders in Europe and Asia look to block younger users from scrolling feeds, citing mental-health risks

By Sam Schechner, WSJ

Feb. 18, 2026

Moves to bar younger teens from social media are spreading globally, with France, Spain and others implementing or proposing bans for those under 14 to 16 years old.

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PARIS—Moves to bar younger teens from social media across Europe and Asia are going, well…viral.

What started as an isolated regulatory gamble by Australia last fall has spread to more than a dozen capitals, where leaders are seizing on issues raised by childhood scrolling to appeal to parents across the political spectrum.

It adds to a growing backlash against teenage smartphone use, which is being blamed by some critics for deteriorating mental health and an epidemic of screen addiction.

From Paris to New Delhi, limits on children’s access to apps such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are now being debated or implemented, marking a tipping point in the conversation about regulating social media and a potential blockage in tech companies’ pipeline of users.

In the U.S., Florida says it has started enforcing a ban on social-media use under age 14, and some states, including California and New York, have passed legislation requiring warning labels detailing potential harms to children and adolescents from social-media apps.

Instagram owner Meta Platforms and YouTube, owned by Alphabet unit Google, are currently defending themselves in a civil trial in California that focuses on the potential damage caused by social-media apps to teenage mental health. On Wednesday, Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, in sworn testimony, defended his company’s practices amid questions about his company’s efforts to secure more of its users’ time and attention. The CEO said Meta’s growth targets reflect an aim to give users something useful, not addict them, and that the company doesn’t seek to attract children as users.

TikTok and Snap settled the case before trial. Lawyers for the companies have said their products aren’t addictive and aren’t responsible for a plaintiff’s mental-health issues.

The age limits proposed in European countries, including the U.K., France and Austria, vary but are generally aimed at stopping children and younger teens from accessing platforms that offer scrolling feeds of short-form videos and posts.

The new initiatives reflect growing political will to address whether widespread social-media and smartphone use are to blame for rising teen anxiety, depression and self-harm, and if the best way to tackle those scourges is to block youngsters’ access.

Apps often employ algorithms that personalize what users see based on their viewing activity, a feature critics say traps young people in damaging online environments. Others cite potential negative effects of excessive smartphone use and phone notifications on sleep and brain development.

In December, Australia became the first country to block access for under-16-year-olds, forcing social-media companies including Meta, TikTok owner ByteDance and YouTube to deactivate millions of teen social-media accounts.

Since then, the lower house of France’s Parliament passed a ban on social-media users under 15 years old, with a goal of enacting a law before the new school year. Spain is planning its ban for teens under 16, leaders in Germany’s government have backed a ban, and the U.K. next month is beginning a public consultation on a similar prohibition.

“We will bring new powers that will give us the ability to crack down on the addictive elements of social media, stop the autoplay, the never-ending scrolling, that keeps our children hooked on their screens for hours,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in an essay published Sunday. “And if that means a fight with the big social-media companies, then bring it on.”

At an artificial-intelligence summit in New Delhi this week, India’s technology minister said talks were under way with social-media companies over age-based restrictions. French President Emmanuel Macron, in town for the summit, warned of the need to protect children and teens from what he called the negative effects of social media and AI chatbots. “We are aligned on that,” he said.

Macron also argued that social-media algorithms are biased and challenged the contention by some tech companies that they protect freedom of expression. “Free speech is a pure bulls— if nobody knows how you are guided through this so-called free speech,” he said.

Some members of the French Parliament attend a debate in the Assemblée Nationale.

The lower house of France’s Parliament passed a ban on social-media users under 15 years old. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Recent studies in the U.S. and Europe suggest that most teens use social-media apps every day. In France, a Parliament report found some 93% of middle-school students have social-media accounts. In the U.S., most teens between ages 13 and 17 say they visit YouTube, TikTok and Instagram daily—with about one-fifth saying they do so “almost constantly,” according to Pew Research Center.

Tech companies as well as some digital-rights and children’s groups, however, say age-limit measures are blunt instruments that are likely to backfire. They say the bans cut off teens from sources of connection, belonging and learning. Critics add that the causal link between social media and teen mental-health problems remains unproven.

“Bans will only push kids toward smaller apps with fewer safety protections,” Jean Gonié, who leads public policy in Europe, Middle East and Africa for Snap, owner of the app Snapchat, said in an interview. “They will backfire at some stage because they exclude kids from their digital life.”

In Australia, there is some anecdotal evidence that younger teens have turned instead to multiplayer online games with chat functions not covered by the ban. YouTube says that Australia’s ban was rushed and hasn’t led to a safer experience for teens.

Snap, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram owner Meta each say it is safer for teens to access the age-appropriate experiences they offer. Depending on the app, those include content restrictions and blocks on messaging and livestreaming, as well as usage limits and links to parental accounts. YouTube says it also plans in coming weeks to give parents the ability to block their teens from watching Shorts, its short-video service.

Several tech executives privately acknowledged that many of the proposed bans are likely to become law because they present an easy political win that appeals to parents on the right and left. For some tech companies, lobbying has focused on scope—to be exempted, or at least ensure competitors are also included.

Meta and TikTok have argued that YouTube should be covered by the bans. Snap for its part contends it is primarily a messaging app and should be excluded. YouTube said it opposes blanket bans.

The immediate financial impact on social-media companies may be limited because many already restrict targeted advertising to minors by basing it only on broad categories such as general location. A more direct cost of new bans would be to cut off a pipeline of potential users who would stick with the app as adults.