EU hits pause on country-level social media bans for children

The European Union has decided to halt any further country-level bans on social media for children, pending the approval of a unified pan-European law, after Austria's draft rules were rejected. Member states must notify the European Commission to ensure their bills comply with EU regulations. Austria sought to restrict children under 14 from accessing social media, but the EU refused.

EU spokesman Thomas Regnier announced that the commission has postponed for 12 months any draft national laws that overlap with the upcoming harmonized rules. The European Commission had previously proposed to limit access to social media for children under 13, allowing only restricted, supervised access until the age of 15. The EU is concerned that permitting countries to implement their own laws would divide the bloc, resulting in different age-limits across member states.

Brussels also fears that EU countries would not prioritize passing the bloc-wide law if they already have national regulations in place. Regnier emphasized the need to focus on negotiations for the EU Kids Act and ensure effective enforcement of the rules. The commission aims for EU countries and the European Parliament to reach an agreement on the new regulations within the next few months.

However, there will be exceptions to the EU's decision. France's proposed law will not be blocked since Paris notified Brussels before presenting bloc-wide legislation. Greece has already passed its own rules, drafted before September. The EU has not yet ruled on bans by other EU states, such as Italy and Slovakia.