Austria Joins the "War" Against Social Media! Children Under 14 Will Be Blocked Completely

JAKARTA - The Austrian government has officially announced plans to ban the use of social media for children under the age of 14. This policy makes Austria the latest country to consider strict restrictions on digital access for the younger generation, following similar steps in a number of European countries.

This plan emerged after long negotiations in the three-party government coalition led by the conservative group. However, until now there is no certainty about when and how the ban will be implemented technically.

Deputy Chancellor of Austria, Andreas Babler, from the Social Democratic Party, emphasized that the government could not stand idly by seeing the impact of social media on children. He said digital platforms had made children "addicted and even often fall ill", so the state must intervene.

According to him, regulations in the digital world must be treated the same as the rules for alcohol and tobacco. "There must be clear rules in the digital world as well," said Babler. He added that this policy aims to protect children from algorithms that are addictive and potentially damaging to mental health.

Austria now joins a growing global wave of restricting social media access for children. Countries such as France and Spain have previously taken similar steps, while other countries such as Denmark, Greece, and Ireland are also reviewing age-restriction policies.

In fact, Australia has already implemented a ban on social media for children under 16 years of age since last December, making it a pioneer in this policy. Meanwhile, the parliament in France has also approved a ban for children under 15 years of age.

Austrian Minister of Education Christoph Wiederkehr emphasized that social media has a "dangerous" impact if not used wisely. He said it was important to educate young people to be able to understand and use technology responsibly.

On the technical side, the State Secretary for Digitalization, Alexander Pröll, stated that the draft law would be presented by the end of June at the latest. The regulation is expected to include an age verification system to ensure that restrictions can be effectively implemented. Austria also opened the possibility of using an EU system if it is available, or developing its own national system.

However, this plan is not free from criticism. The Secretary General of the Freedom Party (FPÖ), Christian Hafenecker, assessed the policy as a threat to freedom of expression and access to information for young people.

Even so, political analyst Thomas Hofer assessed that this policy was actually popular among the public, especially parents. He called this step as a way for the government to show control in the midst of a stressful economic and political situation.

At the same time, the plan to ban social media is also part of a wider education reform in Austria, including the addition of lessons on democracy and artificial intelligence, as well as the reduction of Latin lessons.

Austria's move further underlines a global policy direction: social media is no longer just a communication tool, but a space that needs to be tightly regulated - especially to protect young people from the increasingly real risks in the digital age.

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