Austrian Government Advances Plan to Ban Social Media for Under-14s

A first roundtable in April included 60 experts, and Wednesday’s meeting focused on dialogue with Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok under the motto "cooperation over confrontation." Pröll emphasized the need for platforms to support the ban’s implementation: "It requires a commitment from the platforms."

Criticism and Technical Challenges

Opposition voices, however, raised concerns about unresolved technical hurdles. Süleymann Zorba, digital policy spokesperson for the Greens, criticized the process: "Even the second roundtable doesn’t change the core problem: the technical questions remain unanswered, and a backdoor real-name requirement still hasn’t been ruled out."

The government has dismissed the idea of mandating ID Austria for age verification, opting instead for a collaborative approach with platforms. Pröll framed Austria’s push as pioneering within the EU: "At the EU level, we’re moving in the direction Austria has already envisioned, where we’ve taken the lead."

Next Steps

The draft law will undergo public review over the summer, with a parliamentary vote expected in the fall. If passed, the ban would mark one of Europe’s strictest youth protection measures for social media.

Pröll reiterated the urgency of reform: "As it is, it can no longer stay." The government’s timeline aims for enforcement by 2027, contingent on platform cooperation and EU alignment.