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News · TechnologyThe EU freezes national laws on minors and social media for a year to impose a single rule
The European Commission is halting national laws while it negotiates its own: no social media for under-13s and supervised accounts for 13- and 14-year-olds. Austria, which wanted to ban them for under-14s, is the most affected.
Translated from the original Spanish article. Read in Spanish
News published on October 29, 2026. The situation may have changed since then.
The European Commission announced on Thursday, October 29, 2026 that it is freezing for 12 months each country's laws on minors' access to social media.
Why it is doing this
Because Brussels is preparing a single rule for the whole European Union and doesn't want each country to have different rules. According to its spokesman, Thomas Regnier, any national law that overlaps with the future European rule is postponed.
The European proposal was presented in September and still has to be negotiated with the European Parliament and the governments.
What the European rule says
No social media for under-13s.
Supervised accounts for 13- and 14-year-olds.
Safety obligations in the design of all online services.
Who is affected
The clearest case is Austria, which in July had told Brussels it wanted to ban social media for under-14s. Italy and Slovenia also had laws in the works. France and Greece have cases with different legal nuances.
In Spain, the measure also limits regions such as Galicia, which wanted to set their own age limits.
Why it matters
Brussels says it wants to avoid each country having different rules within a single market. While the European rule is negotiated, national laws that overlap with it are on hold.
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Sources (in Spanish)
- La moratoria y la propuesta europea: EFE vía Infobae (29 de octubre de 2026).
- Austria, Italia y Eslovenia: Teleprensa.
- Efecto en Galicia: Moncloa.com.
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