What happened
The European Commission has advised EU member states to pause national social media bans for children for 12 months. The goal is to replace a patchwork of country-by-country rules with a single EU regulation.
Austria first in line
Austria is the first country affected. Its plan to keep children under 14 off social media has been frozen for the duration of the pause.
Why it matters
Children's online safety has been rising up the agenda in several European countries. The Commission, however, argues that fragmented national bans create confusion for both companies and users. A single EU law would make the rules consistent across the bloc.
What's next
The pause runs for 12 months. How the shared EU framework will take shape, and how issues such as age verification will be handled, remains unclear.
