Social media ban for under-14s: the EU puts national laws on hold for 12 months

“The Commission has decided to postpone for 12 months any national draft legislation that overlaps with future harmonised rules, considering this essential to prevent fragmentation of our internal market. To safeguard the work of our co-legislators, we must now focus on the negotiations regarding the EU Kids Act and ensure the effective enforcement of our rules.” This was stated by Thomas Regnier, spokesperson for the European Commission, regarding the opinion expected today on the Austrian bill to ban the use of social media by under-14s.

The spokesperson also clarified that the Commission had received notifications regarding legislative initiatives from several Member States. In addition to Austria, he mentioned Slovenia, Italia, Belgium and France. “We do not intend to fragment the single market,” she reiterated, explaining that the existence of “different age limits and different laws across Member States” would make it “almost impossible” for platforms to comply with the rules, with the ultimate risk of users being left “without any level of protection”.

Responding to journalists’ questions about the risk that the delay might leave children less protected whilst awaiting the European regulations, the spokesperson gave assurances that the EU Kids Act would be accompanied by rigorous enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA). “We want to ensure that the platforms – which are, in fact, the entities causing harm to our children – take responsibility; we will ensure they are held to account, so that in the meantime all children are adequately protected,” he explained. Regarding the French and Greek cases, Regnier clarified that there are “some minor differences”, of a legal and procedural nature, compared with the Austrian situation.

Under the laws of these countries, he explained, the suspension period provided for under the European procedure had already expired before the EU Kids Act proposal was tabled. The spokesperson did not, however, go into detail about the progress of individual national initiatives. The Commission is now aiming to speed up discussions with the European Parliament and the Council. “We must speed up our work with the co-legislators, because the top priority is to adopt the Kids Act,” concluded Regnier, reiterating the need for a harmonised solution at European level.