Austria plans social media ban for under-14s: Pröll announces draft law

According to Pröll, the platforms definitively affected by the ban are to be TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. "Es kommt auf die Logik der Plattformen an," the state secretary said with a view to the platforms that will have to comply with an age limit in the future. There will not be a definitive list of affected providers, as he added: "Was die Plattformen betrifft, für die es zukünftig eine Altersgrenze gelten soll, werde es 'keine taxative Aufzählung der Plattformen geben'."

Third-party providers for age verification

Technical age verification is to be carried out by a third-party provider, which will only give the respective platform a yes/no answer as to whether the registered person is over 14 years old. "Den Plattformen würden 'kein Ausweis, keine Daten, keine Wohnadresse geliefert', versicherte Pröll und garantierte 'höchsten Datenschutzstandard'." This is intended to ensure that sensitive personal data does not end up in the hands of the platforms.

In the event of violations of the age restriction, the government's plans provide for penalties against the platforms, which can amount to up to six percent of annual revenue. "Wir reden von Milliarden Euro potenzieller Strafe," Pröll said. The sanctions are to be imposed by KommAustria, the Austrian regulatory authority. This is intended to increase pressure on the platforms to create the technical requirements for reliable age verification.

Penalties of up to six percent of annual revenue

The SPÖ is meanwhile proposing an alternative model that places greater emphasis on digital literacy. It is advocating a "9 plus 2" model with mandatory exercises for children and young people. With this, the opposition party is pursuing a pedagogical approach that goes beyond a mere ban and is intended to equip young people to deal with social media.

Headwinds from the Greens and FPÖ

The opposition criticism, however, is fierce. Barbara Neßler, the Greens' spokesperson for children, youth and families, demanded in a press release: "Entscheidend ist, dass am Ende eine Lösung steht, die Kinder wirksam schützt, funktioniert und grundrechtskonform ist." The Greens are skeptical of the government's plans, particularly in light of fundamental rights issues.

Pröll justified Austria's decision to go its own way with the draft law rather than waiting for an EU-wide solution with concerns about stagnation: "dass da vielleicht nie was kommt. Und darum sind wir den nationalen Weg gegangen." He did acknowledge that a European solution would be "schöner": "Aber selbst wenn sie kommt, würde die technische Umsetzung sowieso den Mitgliedsstaaten übertragen."

National solo effort with risks

Criticism of this national solo effort, however, continues unabated. Greens spokesperson Neßler warned against staging the law merely as a quickly visible political signal. What is needed, she said, is a solution that "den Grundsätzen des Rechtsstaats gerecht wird" and that actually works. Pediatricians, for their part, have long warned that excessive screen time harms children's physical and psychological health and cannot be resolved by a ban alone.

Within the coalition, there appears to be movement on the issue of civilian service in parallel with the social media plans. In an interview with "Presse," Pröll initially cited the "6 plus 100" model, but later corrected this to "8 plus 2 und 12 Monate Zivildienst." This appears to be linked to discussions about the length of basic military service and the future mandatory period for civilian service. There was sharp criticism from the FPÖ ranks: "Die Uneinigkeit innerhalb der Regierungskoalition führt zu einem Stillstand bei der wichtigsten Reform für die Sicherheit unseres Landes."

The Neos have remained tight-lipped on both issues. From the coalition partners' side, it was only said that they were "noch in Abstimmungen," as STANDARD learned. It is therefore unclear how and in what form the plans will ultimately be presented to the cabinet.

With regard to data protection and the protection of minors, the government points out that the procedure is to be handled by external third-party providers, which are themselves subject to European data protection law. This is intended to prevent sensitive identity data from flowing directly to the platforms. Critics doubt, however, that such a third-party solution will actually function in a tamper-proof manner in practice and will not ultimately reveal profiles of individual users.

Consumer advocates and educators see the plans as a long-overdue step, but at the same time stress that a ban alone is not enough. They say it needs to be accompanied by education in schools, easily accessible support services for parents, and international coordination. The question of which platforms exactly should fall under the ban also remains open, with reference to future adjustments. It therefore remains to be seen which other providers the law will ultimately affect.

Open questions on practical implementation

Finally, there is the question of enforceability. Even a ban in Austria cannot prevent children from accessing blocked content via VPN services or from abroad. Experts emphasize that effective child and youth protection on the internet can only succeed through a combination of education, technical solutions and clearly regulated provider responsibility. The draft could still be adjusted before its planned presentation at the summer cabinet meeting.

If the draft law is presented in cabinet on Monday as announced, the political debate on it is likely to pick up further speed. The Greens have already signaled that they want the plans to be reviewed for compliance with fundamental rights during the parliamentary process. Within the coalition, too, the last word apparently has not yet been spoken.

Overall, it is clear that with its plans to prevent under-14s from accessing major social networks, Austria is venturing into a politically highly sensitive solo effort. How effective it will ultimately be depends not least on the concrete design of the age verification system, on KommAustria's sanctioning practice, and on whether a European solution will still be found in the short term. The coming weeks are considered decisive, because the debate about child protection, data protection and freedom of expression on the internet is by no means concluded with the current draft.