Addiction advisers call for social media limits up to age 18

Austria’s addiction prevention centre VIVID is calling for the planned social media ban for under-14s to be partly extended to people under 18, ORF reported. The centre said the draft law did not go far enough.

The consultation period for the legislation ended on Monday, with hundreds of submissions received. The government plans to pass the law this year and introduce it in January 2027.

VIVID adviser Waltraud Posch said the protection age should be raised because the brain is not fully developed until about the age of 25 and plays a central role in the development of addiction.

She said the most dangerous social media functions should not become available until users turn 18. These include endless scrolling through videos and mechanisms that reward frequent use or cause frustration when a platform is used less often.

VIVID also called for the youth protection rules to cover messaging services. Although the draft is based on functions rather than named platforms, messaging services are currently excluded, the centre said. Some now include functions similar to those used by social media platforms, and should therefore be covered when they offer the same features, Posch said.

The submissions will now be reviewed before the proposed legislation is considered by parliament.