Austria wants to follow Australia's example and introduce a ban on social media for people under 14, the Austrian APA agency reported, quoted by BTA.
State Secretary Alexander Pröll announced today on the TV show "O1 Morgenjournal" (Ö1-Morgenjournal) that the ban should come into effect at the start of the new school year.
Currently, a technical solution is being studied so that the measure can be introduced by the fall of 2026, Pröll said.
As a first step, experts should now gather with the participation of the parties to work on the concept in detail. Regarding the technical possibilities, Pröll emphasized that "of course one can look to Australia".
There, the responsibility is assigned to the platforms regarding the age limit of 16 for using social networks introduced last December.
"This could be one option", said the state secretary.
So far, opposition to this has come from the coalition partner NEOS.
"We categorically reject the Australian model", said their media spokeswoman Henrike Brandstötter. "We see in the US what happens when technology oligarchs collect data and then politicians use it as a weapon against citizens", she added.
She said she wanted to wait for the ID-Austria program to be upgraded within the EU. However, this will only be possible in 2027.
At their summit in late October, EU heads of state and government spoke out in support of age restrictions and, in a declaration adopted at the time, stressed the importance of protecting minors in the digital space, including through a minimum age for access to social networks.
The European Parliament then insisted on a minimum age of 13 for the use of social networks, video platforms and artificial intelligence. In a report adopted by a large majority, initiating the proposal for the protection of children and young people in the digital space, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to set the appropriate age limit by the end of 2026.
In this regard, Pröll stressed that he also prefers a European solution, but does not want to wait any longer.
State Secretary Jörg Leitfried also recently spoke out in favor of introducing a ban this year.