VIENNA
\nAustria has announced plans to ban social media for children aged under 14, becoming the latest country to consider introducing restrictions for children online. It follows lengthy negotiations within the conservative-led three-party coalition government, but it is not yet clear how or when the ban will be implemented.
\nAnnouncing the plans, Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler of the Social Democrats said the government could not stand by and watch as social media made children \u201caddicted and also often ill\u201d.
\nHe said it was the responsibility of politicians to protect children and argued that the issue should be treated no different to alcohol or tobacco: \u201cThere must be clear rules in the digital world too.\u201d
\nIn future, said Babler, children under 14 would be protected from algorithms that were addictive. \u201cOther information providers have clear rules to protect young people from harmful content.\u201d These, he said, should now be implemented in the digital space.
\nAustria is the latest among a growing number of countries to consider restricting social media access for children, citing concerns about potentially harmful content made available to them on the platforms.
\nIn a landmark case in the US on Wednesday, a jury found two social media giants had intentionally built addictive algorithms that harmed young people\u2019s mental health.
\nSocial media companies point to under-13s being disallowed from joining their platforms\u2013though questions remain about how strictly this is enforced\u2013and versions of their sites with parental controls when challenged on questions of harm. Australia introduced a ban for under-16s in December, becoming the first nation to do so.
\nFrance\u2019s lower house approved a ban for under-15s in January. In a post on X French President Emmanuel Macron thanked Austria for \u201cjoining the movement\u201d.
\nThe UK government has launched a consultation on banning social media for under-16s, while Denmark, Greece, Spain and Ireland are also considering similar moves: Spain and Ireland for under-16s, and Denmark and Greece for under-15s.
\nAustrian Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr, from the liberal Neos party, stressed the \u201charmful\u201d nature of social media, adding: \u201cPeople need to learn how to use it responsibly.\u201d The state secretary for digitalisation, Alexander Pr\u00f6ll, from the conservative \u00d6VP, said that a draft bill codifying the ban would be presented by the end of June.
\nThe bill is expected to contain technical details of an agreed mechanism to verify people\u2019s ages when accessing social media platforms. Babler said Austria could use an EU system if it was ready, but that it would pursue a national plan if not. The general secretary of the far-right opposition Freedom Party, Christian Hafenecker, condemned the plans as \u201ca direct attack on young people\u2019s freedom of expression and freedom of information\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VIENNA Austria has announced plans to ban social media for children aged under 14, becoming the latest country to consider introducing restrictions for children online. It follows lengthy negotiations within the conservative-led three-party coalition government, but it is not yet clear how or when the ban will be implemented. Announcing the plans, Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-539029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n