The Austrian government intends to ban children under 14 from accessing social media on such platforms in order to "protect them from the negative consequences" of using them.
Medianews.az, citing Musavat.com, reports that Austria's Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler spoke about this, stating: "We will decisively protect children and young people from the negative consequences of social media in the future. We will no longer watch as these platforms become addictive and often cause illnesses in our children... The risks associated with their use have long been ignored; now is the time to take action."
According to Babler, the draft law implementing the ban will be prepared by the end of June. He noted that the government will not list individual platforms in the document but will base its decisions on how addictive their algorithms are and whether they contain content such as "sexual violence."
It should be recalled that in December 2025, Australia became the first country in the world to completely ban social media use for individuals under 16. Similar measures are being considered in several countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Denmark.
Additionally, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has stated that age restrictions alone are not sufficient to protect children from online platforms. The organization has warned that such bans could have counterproductive effects and called for a broader strategy.