European Commission Imposes 12-Month Moratorium on Children's Social Media Laws

The European Commission has decided to implement a 12-month waiting period for national legislative bills restricting children's social media use in order to establish a common European Union framework. This decision aims to prevent the fragmentation of the single market among member states and to allow time for negotiations on the EU Children's Act.

The European Commission has decided to extend the waiting period for various national legislative bills restricting children's social media use in order to allow time for negotiations on a common European Union framework. Speaking at a press conference on October 29, European Commission spokesperson for digital affairs Thomas Regnier announced that the institution decided to apply a 12-month moratorium on national legislative bills that overlap with the EU Children's Act. The goal is to prevent the formation of a fragmented single market due to differing age limits among member states and to facilitate negotiations on a common proposal.

This decision directly affects Austria's legislative bill aimed at restricting access of children under 14 to certain video-sharing platforms. Austrian Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Communications Andreas Babler opposed the decision to delay the legislative bill, arguing that the protection of children must be addressed urgently. On the other hand, the draft EU Children's Act presented by the European Commission in September envisions that children under 13 should not have their own accounts, children aged 13-14 should have only limited accounts managed by their parents, and those aged 15 and older can use independent accounts.