The Constitutional Council has just censored the ban on social media for those under 15, the government is pushing for the approval of autonomous delivery robots, and a parliamentary report proposes transitioning the State to 100% open source by 2030. These three decisions, made within a few weeks, are reshaping the contours of digital technology in France for the coming years.
Open source in administration: what the National Assembly report changes
A report from the National Assembly’s inquiry committee, published in mid-July 2026, makes a radical proposal: to impose fully open source public state contracts starting January 1, 2030. The text also aims for a goal dubbed “zero Microsoft in schools,” with an immediate moratorium on certain contracts binding educational institutions to proprietary publishers.
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Why such a sudden shift? The authors of the report point to a technological dependency that has developed over two decades. Each license renewal locks administrations further into a closed ecosystem, complicating data portability and increasing long-term costs.
To follow the evolution of this issue and other digital topics over the weeks, the news page of 42 Le Mag compiles the key events in French tech. Transitioning to free software is not just about changing office suites. It requires training staff, funding community maintenance, and ensuring a level of support equivalent to commercial solutions.
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Social media and minors: the constitutional censorship of August 14, 2026
The law banning access to social media for those under 15 was adopted by deputies and senators on July 21, 2026. Less than a month later, on August 14, the Constitutional Council censored the measure.
The text provided for an age verification mechanism at registration. The Council ruled that this mechanism constituted a disproportionate infringement on freedoms, particularly the right to privacy and freedom of expression. La Quadrature du Net had already described the law as “reactionary” upon its publication.
Age verification: the unresolved technical knot
The underlying problem has remained the same for years. Verifying a user’s age without collecting sensitive data (ID, biometrics) is a puzzle. Existing solutions rely either on a trusted third party or on an algorithmic estimation of the face, both approaches raising proportionality concerns.
The executive has announced a new bill for next spring. This text will need to solve an equation that the previous one did not: protecting minors without imposing widespread surveillance of online identity.
Autonomous delivery robots: green light for approval in France
A text published in the Official Journal paves the way for the approval of the first autonomous delivery robots. The Ministry of Transport now allows the manufacture of these vehicles, which operate on sidewalks or along roadways to ensure the last mile of delivery.
Have you already encountered these small six-wheeled devices in some European or American cities? In France, they had until now been limited to local experiments governed by temporary exemptions. The transition from experimentation to industrialization marks a change in regulatory status.
What the approval concretely implies
An approved robot must meet specific safety standards:
- Emergency braking capability and obstacle detection within a defined perimeter around the vehicle, including pedestrians and animals
- Remote human supervision system, with the ability to regain control in real-time in case of anomalies
- Compliance with pedestrian traffic rules, limiting speed to that of a fast walker
The expected gain concerns the cost and carbon footprint of the last mile, the most expensive and polluting portion of the logistics chain. The first commercial deployments could occur in the months following the publication of the implementing decrees.
Digital infrastructures: the strategic contract Horizon 2030
The digital infrastructure sector was redefined in July 2026 by public authorities. The scope now covers the entire value chain: networks, submarine cables, active equipment, and data centers. The strategic contract “Horizon 2030” formalizes this approach by linking it to a national power objective.
Specifically, the contract targets the upgrade to advanced 5G and prepares for 6G. It also incorporates the convergence of networks, cloud, and artificial intelligence, as well as non-terrestrial architectures (low Earth orbit satellites). The idea is to no longer treat these subjects in silos, but as an industrial continuum.
Why this sector logic changes the game
Tech news sites often talk a lot about connected objects or AI models. They rarely address the physical layer that makes them work. A data center without reliable submarine cables or decarbonized power supply is not very useful.
The Horizon 2030 contract requires players in the sector to coordinate on heavy investments:
- Strengthening terrestrial and submarine interconnections between France and its European partners
- Planning the energy supply for future computing centers dedicated to AI
- Developing network components manufactured in Europe to reduce dependence on Asian suppliers
- Preparing 6G standards with a timeline aligned with ITU work
Mastering the physical infrastructure of digital technology becomes an issue of sovereignty just like energy or food. The contract formalizes this, but it remains to be seen if funding will follow.
These four issues—open source, protection of minors, autonomous robots, and infrastructures—share a common point: they reflect the transition of French digital technology from a phase of technological catch-up to a phase of regulatory and industrial structuring. The decisions made this year will condition the maneuvering room for the next decade.