VIENNA: Austria's governing coalition on Friday announced plans to ban social media use for children under 14, joining a string of other countries in drawing up restrictions for young people.
Alexander Pröll, the official in Chancellor Christian Stocker's office responsible for digitization, said that draft legislation will be drawn up by the end of June. He said that “technically modern methods” of age verification will be used that allow users to verify their age while respecting their privacy.
It wasn't immediately clear when the plan to introduce a minimum age, which will need parliamentary approval, might take effect.
Australia in 2024 took the lead, becoming the first country to eject children under 16 from social media with the intention of protecting them from harmful content and excessive screen time. A similar ban in Indonesia is due to start taking effect on Saturday.
In Europe, lawmakers in France in January approved a bill banning social media for children under 15, paving the way for the measure to enter into force at the start of the next school year in September.
Spain last month announced plans for a social media ban for under-16s. Denmark last fall announced an agreement for an access ban for under-15s. The British government said in January it would consider banning young teenagers from social media.
Austria's three-party centrist coalition is now joining the trend.
“Today is a good day for children for children in our country,” Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler said at a news conference. “In the future, we will protect children and young people with determination against the negative effects of social media platforms.”
“We will no longer look on as these platforms make our children addicted and often also sick,” he said.
The Austrian government plans to accompany the ban with an effort to beef up schools' teaching of how to use media and deal with artificial intelligence.