European Commission urges countries to hold off national social media bans for children for 12 months

The European Commission, the European Union's executive body, has urged member states to refrain from introducing new national bans on children using social media until Europe-wide rules are in place. The announcement came from EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier. The decision affects national draft laws that overlap with the planned harmonised framework, and it matters because it determines whether children's access to social media in Europe will be governed by one common rule or by differing limits in each country.

What the Commission decided

Under EU law, member states must notify the Commission of new laws so it can check that they do not conflict with the bloc's rules. The Commission has decided to postpone for 12 months any national bills that overlap with the harmonised rules planned for the future. Austria had wanted to ban social media for children under 14, but the EU rejected such a ban.

Last month the Commission proposed banning social media for children under 13 and allowing only limited, supervised access up to the age of 15.

The reasoning

The EU believes that letting countries continue drafting national laws would create friction within the bloc, as member states would end up with different age limits. Brussels also fears that countries would be in less of a hurry to adopt a common law if they already had their own national rules. "We need to concentrate on negotiations on the EU Children's Act and ensure our rules are effectively enforced," Regnier said.

The Commission hopes that EU countries and the European Parliament will reach agreement on the new rules in the coming months.

Exceptions

The decision will have exceptions. Although the Commission asked for France's proposed law to be reworked, it is not expected to be blocked, because Paris notified Brussels of it before the bloc-wide legislation was proposed. Greece has also managed to adopt its own rules, which were drafted before September.

Regnier declined to say whether the Commission will block France's efforts to adopt its own ban. The Commission has also not yet made decisions on bans introduced by other member states, including Italy and Slovakia.