France’s National Assembly has passed a bill that would ban children under the age of 15 from using social media, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to strengthen online protections for minors.

The bill was approved in the early hours of Tuesday local time. Under the proposed legislation, social networking services provided by online platforms would be prohibited from allowing users under 15 to access their services.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the vote, calling it “an important milestone” in a message posted early Tuesday. He emphasized the government’s determination to better protect young people from the potential harms of social media.

Macron said the bill will now be submitted to the Senate for further review. He has also instructed the government to launch an accelerated legislative process, with the aim of having the measures come into effect as early as the next school year.