Austria sends draft law mandating social media ID verification from age 14 into consultation

Background: Addictive features in focus

Vice-Chancellor and Media Minister Andreas Babler (SPÖ) described the day as a „sehr guter Tag aus Sicht der Kinder“. The aim, he said, was „das, was wir unseren Kindern nicht in der realen Welt zumuten lassen wollen, dass wir das auch im digitalen Raum nicht zulassen“. Babler announced that the law should enter into force on 1 January 2027; until then, platforms would have three months to implement it, meaning the regulations would de facto take effect from April 2027.

The draft defines a range of features as addictive and potentially harmful. These include recommendation algorithms that predominantly surface content from unfamiliar persons, endless-scroll mechanics or automatic playback, reward systems for uninterrupted usage, push notifications outside of usage time, and unsolicited contact from unknown accounts.

A platform is deemed affected if it displays at least one of these features. This includes automatic playback, endless scrolling, recommendation systems – with the exception of search results – in which more than one third of the displayed content does not originate from users' self-selected contacts, as well as direct contact without an existing mutual connection.

Affected platforms and exemptions

According to State Secretary for Digitalisation Alexander Pröll (ÖVP), the draft does not contain an exhaustive list of affected providers. „Welche Plattformen betroffen sind, hänge von der Funktionsweise ab, Pröll said. There is no „taxative Aufzählung" in the law. From today's perspective, it is only clear that TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube are to fall under the ban. Messenger services such as WhatsApp are not covered.

Under the draft, age verification does not take place directly with the platform operator, but through certified third-party providers. One of several options will be ID Austria. The third-party provider must then only pass on to the respective platform whether the registered person is over 14 years old. The procedure uses so-called zero-knowledge proof methods: „Mittels Zero-Knowledge-Proof-Verfahren wird ausschließlich bestätigt, ob jemand das Mindestalter erreicht hat – ein einfaches Ja oder Nein. Kein Name, kein Geburtsdatum, keine sensiblen Daten landen bei den Plattformen."

Data protection through double-blind model

The model is described as a double-blind model. Providers of age verification technology must accordingly not be able to trace where or when a verification is used; the target platform receives only the information necessary for the check. The level of age verification must correspond at a minimum to that required of financial institutions in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Under the draft, verification is required once when an account is created. Existing accounts must be re-verified when the law enters into force. Anonymous usage without an account may, under the rules, require more frequent checks. Platforms can alternatively offer child-appropriate areas in order to meet the requirements.

Responsibility and sanctions lie with the platforms. Violations can be punished with fines of up to six percent of global annual turnover for very large online platforms; the draft also provides for administrative fines of up to 150,000 euros. For groups such as Google or Meta, fines could run into the billions. Those using platforms are also to be identifiable; from a certain severity of offence, authorities are to be able to access this data.

Sanctions and curriculum reform

Parallel to the regulation, the government announced a curriculum reform that introduces the compulsory subject „Medien und Demokratie" at upper secondary level and expands teaching to include artificial intelligence. In order to adapt the curriculum accordingly, Latin and the second modern foreign language are to be cut by two lesson hours per week each.

The federal government also justified the move on security policy grounds. Stocker said the law should contribute to security in the country: „Weil wir unser Land nicht nur lebens-, sondern auch liebenswert halten wollen." Babler stressed that schools and parents must not be left alone with the task. „Kinder haben ein Recht darauf, von der Politik geschützt zu werden", the Vice-Chancellor said. At the same time, the government reaffirmed its support for a Europe-wide initiative to introduce a minimum age for the use of social media; regardless of that, Austria will rapidly set a minimum age of 14.

Reactions from politics and civil society

Criticism came from the opposition. The FPÖ rejected the draft and spoke of „Zensur unter dem Deckmantel des Jugendschutzes". FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker called the project a „hinterlistigen Frontalangriff auf die Meinungs- und Informationsfreiheit junger Menschen". The Greens support the project in principle, but see it as legally unclear. Their digitalisation spokesperson Süleyman Zorba called the draft „ein rechtlich schwammiges Gesetz: viel Datenschutz-Marketing, wenig konkrete Lösungen".

Approval was signalled by the Federal Youth Representation (BJV). BJV Chair Moritz Mittermann stated that manipulative platform design had made social media a problematic place; blocking such functions was an important step towards protecting young people and their mental health. Rainer Will, Managing Director of the Trade Association (HV), said: „Die heimischen Kinderzimmer dürfen kein rechtsfreier Raum für globale Plattformkonzerne sein." Anyone who earns billions from the attention of young people must also take responsibility for protecting them.

Speaking to DER STANDARD, Pröll pointed to the delays at EU level. „Es ist das Versagen der EU, dass sie nicht früher für Klarheit gesorgt hat", he said. That was why national states had taken their own paths. With the draft, Austria counts „zu einem der ersten Länder in Europa, das Kindern unter 14 Jahren klaren gesetzlichen Schutz vor den Gefahren sozialer Medien geben wird".

Next steps and timeline

The consultation period for the draft runs until 21 September. Submissions must be sent by email both to medienrecht@bmwkms.gv.at and to Post.VII-2@bka.gv.at; a single submission is not sufficient. If EU notification proceeds smoothly, entry into force in January 2027 is possible according to the government; de facto, the regulations would apply from April 2027 after a three-month implementation period.

Pure online storage services whose content is not tagged or arranged by the provider are exempt from the scope. The definitions of „video" and „video platform" contained in the draft also leave certain demarcation questions open, such as the distinction between image sequences with and without motion. For the SPÖ and NEOS, it was important from the outset that the so-called „Australian model", in which platforms carry out age verification themselves, should not be applied.

At the example of Australia, where ten providers – Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, X as well as the Australian platform Kick – are already subject to a comparable regime, the Austrian government says it does not intend to orient itself. Instead of listing individual platforms, the draft ties in to functional features. A public, exhaustive list of all covered online offerings is sought in vain.

The background to the initiative are studies showing that almost half of 13- to 17-year-olds use their device almost continuously and one in four children shows addiction-like symptoms. The government also points to the spread of problematic role models in social media. Examples cited include „Endlos-Scrollen", automatic video playback and the conveyance of such role models, „die auf sozialen Medien posten, was sie wollen".