France blocks under 15 social media ban

JUST IN: France's Constitutional Council blocks a bill banning social media for under-15s, ruling it infringes freedom of expression, in a setback for President Macron who championed the law.

France just tried to ban social media for anyone under fifteen, and its own top court said no.

The Constitutional Council struck the bill down today, ruling it infringes freedom of expression. Which is quite a thing to hear when the people losing their expression are thirteen year olds on their phones, and you can see exactly who we're talking about here, the kids this law was written for.

It's a real bruise for President Macron, because this wasn't some backbench project, he championed it personally. And here's the part I find telling. He hasn't backed off an inch. The Élysée says he's ordered his prime minister to rewrite the bill, and he wants it in force before next year's presidential election.

So the court killed the law, but not the fight. France's kids keep scrolling for now, and Macron has a rewrite on the clock with an election behind it.

This is Angel Manalo, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at france24.com