On Friday, the French Constitutional Council stopped a new law that would have banned children under 15 from using social media like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. The Council is France’s highest legal authority, and it said the ban was not fair because it took away the basic right of freedom of expression and communication. The law was a main idea supported by French President Emmanuel Macron and was due to start at the beginning of the next school year.

The Council gave one main reason for its decision. It said that to make the ban work, all users, even adults, would need to give proof of their age, which could hurt the privacy of citizens.

Because of this decision, the French government must now write a new version of the law which better protects privacy but still tries to keep children safe online.