The European Commission is calling on EU member states to suspend the implementation of national laws restricting minors’ access to social media, as Brussels seeks to establish a common set of rules across the European Union.

Speaking to journalists today, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said that “the Commission has decided to postpone for 12 months any national legislative initiative that overlaps with the future harmonized rules.”

Austria had asked the Commission in July to examine whether its proposed legislation, which would ban access for children under the age of 14, was compatible with EU law. The deadline for the Commission to respond expired on Thursday, and Brussels asked Austria to “freeze” implementation for one year, Regnier said.

“A European problem requires a single European response. We must now focus on negotiations on the Kids Act,” the spokesperson said.

Austria, the first country asked to suspend its legislation, reacted strongly to the directive, according to Politico.

“It is unacceptable for Brussels to prevent member states from enacting national laws without presenting a comprehensive European solution of its own,” Austrian Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Pröll told the publication.

Austria’s Vice Chancellor and Minister for Media, Andreas Babler, also said: “I am very unhappy with the European Commission’s delay regarding Austria’s social media ban.”

He added that his country would continue preparing its own legislation so that it would be ready by the end of the 12-month suspension period.

As for Greece and France, which have already passed legislation introducing social media restrictions, the Commission clarified in response to questions that the two countries are in a different legal and procedural position from Austria.

Skertsos to PASOK: “The Opposition May Have Time to Waste, but Protecting Our Children Cannot Wait Any Longer”

Commenting on the reports, Greek Minister of State Akis Skertsos wrote the following on Facebook:

“Greece is the first and only country in the EU implementing restrictions to protect minors over the next 12 months.

“‘A 12-month pause on national legislative initiatives that overlap with the proposed common European rules has been activated by the European Commission, with Greece and France exempted,’ we read in today’s announcement by the European Commission.

“This is exactly what we had been explaining for two weeks to PASOK and the rest of the opposition, which persistently sought to delay matters by insisting that we legislate in deviation from what we had already agreed with the EU — within the framework of the technical consultation we completed over the summer — regarding the age limit for social media.

“The only thing we would have achieved by adopting PASOK’s amendment would have been to lose at least another 12 months without protective measures for children and strict obligations for platforms from January 1, 2027.

“This is what happens when someone is concerned only with opposing the government instead of studying the EU framework more carefully and, of course, putting the interests of society first, especially those of the most vulnerable — in this case, children.

“It is a shame that, just a few hours ago, the leader of PASOK repeated the same argument in Parliament, an argument that was literally ‘undermined’ by today’s EU decision.

“The opposition may have time to waste, but protecting our children cannot wait any longer.”

Plans for Social Media Bans

In recent months, both the European Commission and national governments have been seeking to impose age restrictions on social media, citing risks to young people’s mental health.

In September, the EU proposed legislation known as the Kids Act, which would establish a common standard across the Union, setting different access thresholds for children under 13 and those under 15.

However, even after the EU proposed a unified law, individual member states continued to pursue different approaches and set different age limits.

Greece is among them. It passed its legislation last week, with implementation scheduled to begin in 2027. Denmark has also passed relevant legislation. According to Politico, both countries have said they do not want to wait until the EU-wide law comes into force.