EU pauses national child social media bans

The European Union said Thursday it does not want more national child social media bans before planned bloc-wide rules are agreed, and blocked Austria's proposed under-14 ban for now.

European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said the commission had decided to postpone for 12 months any draft national laws that overlap with future harmonised EU rules.

The commission proposed last month to ban children under 13 from social media and allow only limited, supervised access until age 15. Brussels says separate national laws could split the bloc with varying age limits and reduce pressure to pass EU-wide legislation.

Regnier said the EU should focus on negotiations over the EU Kids Act and enforcement of existing rules. The commission hopes EU countries and the European Parliament can reach a deal in the next few months.

Austrian Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler criticised the delay, saying Vienna wanted to protect children from harm caused by social media companies and would prepare its law to take effect immediately after one year.

France's proposed law is not expected to be blocked in the same way because Paris notified Brussels before the EU-wide proposal was made, although the commission has asked France to rework it. Greece has already passed its own rules, drafted before September. The EU has not yet given verdicts on proposed bans by countries including Italy and Slovakia.