What regulatory options for social media are being discussed in Switzerland and abroad?
Between "ban everything" and laissez-faire: cantonal initiatives, federal parliamentary motions, a draft Swiss platform law modelled on the EU Digital Services Act, and the expert group on online addiction. Australia went furthest with a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts.
The two extremes, a total ban and laissez-faire, are both rejected as too simple. In between:
- Cantonal initiatives, e.g. in Thurgau and Neuchâtel.
- Federal level: among others the Vara postulate (24.4480, on young people's mental health and exposure to social networks) and the Durrer interpellation (24.4335, on how the federal government protects and empowers children and young people on social media).
- A consultation on platform regulation (Plattformregulierung), modelled on the EU Digital Services Act, which obliges large platforms to assess and reduce systemic risks.
- The national expert group "online addiction" advising the federal government.
Australia passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024: platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat must take reasonable steps to stop under-16s from holding accounts (in force since December 2025). The duty lies with the platforms, not with parents or children, and violations can cost platforms up to A$49.5 million.
The ethical trade-off: protecting minors from designs built to hold them versus their freedom, their right to information and social participation, and the privacy cost of age checks for everyone.
Go deeper:
Wikipedia: Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 — Australia's under-16 ban and its enforcement.- Wikipedia: Digital Services Act — the EU regulation the Swiss draft follows.
- Curia Vista: Postulate 24.4480 (Vara) — young people's mental health and social networks (German).