Greece Blocks Social Media For Kids

Greece's parliament has passed legislation banning social media use for children under the age of 15, a move Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described as difficult but necessary. The bill targets major platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X, and requires these services to implement reliable age-verification methods. The law was enacted this week and is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.

The proposal originated earlier this year when Mitsotakis first announced the plan. Following the announcement, the government drafted the bill to address concerns regarding internet usage among minors. The legislation was subsequently brought to the floor for a vote this week.

The measure passed through the legislature with the support of the ruling majority government, despite opposition from the country's minority parties. Mitsotakis previously stated that his government's goal is to push the European Union in this direction as well. The legislation is among the first of its kind to be imposed in the European Union.

Dimitris Papastergiou, the digital governance and AI minister, defended the government's decision to act unilaterally rather than waiting for a broader European framework. "It would have been very easy to do absolutely nothing today and wait for the perfect European law. But the challenge is here," Papastergiou said, adding that a responsible government must do what it is obliged to do.

To enforce the ban, parents will be required to utilize state-backed applications named Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These apps are designed to be paired with a child's device to block access to restricted platforms. Papastergiou noted that these tools are engineered to protect privacy by using age tokens, which confirm a user's age while minimizing the disclosure of personal data.

Non-compliance with the act will result in fines levied under the EU's Digital Services Act. The government asserts that these measures are necessary to protect children, stating that children are sinking into the internet every day. Public sentiment regarding the legislation appears to be supportive, as opinion polls indicate that the social media ban for children is widely backed by Greece's adult population.

This is not the first time the Greek government has restricted technology usage in educational settings. In 2024, the nation barred mobile phones from schools. The current ban extends those principles to the broader digital landscape, aiming to restrict access to social media platforms for minors.

While Greece moves forward with its own regulations, other jurisdictions are pursuing similar policies. Australia was the first nation to enact a full social media ban for children, though the implementation of age verification there has proven challenging. On the European level, the European Commission introduced the EU Kids Act. However, that law stipulates an outright ban only for children under 13, which is a lower age threshold than the one established in the new Greek legislation.