Greece Blocks Under-15s From Social Media
The ban, effective January 1, 2027, requires platforms to verify user ages and mandates state-backed apps for parental controls.
By John Ferrari ·
Greece will prohibit children under the age of 15 from using social media starting January 1, 2027. The country became one of the first in the European Union to enact such a restriction after its parliament voted to approve the legislation. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the plan earlier this year, and the government passed the bill despite opposition from minority parties. Mitsotakis characterized the measure as difficult but necessary for the nation's youth.
The law applies to major digital platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. These services must implement age-verification systems that are both reliable and proportionate to the risk. If companies fail to meet these compliance standards, they will face fines under the existing EU Digital Services Act. The regulation aims to prevent young users from accessing these networks without confirmed age status.
Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister for digital governance and AI, defended the national approach against waiting for broader EU legislation. He stated that it would have been easy to do nothing and wait for a perfect European law. Papastergiou argued that the challenge is present daily, with children sinking into the internet, and that a responsible government must act. He emphasized that the state is obligated to protect its citizens from immediate digital risks.
For families, the new rules require the use of specific state-backed applications called Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. Parents will download these apps and pair them with their children's devices. The software blocks access to the restricted social media services for users under 15. These tools are designed to manage access without requiring the child to share excessive personal details with the platforms.
Papastergiou explained that the apps prioritize privacy by limiting the amount of data collected. The system relies on age tokens, which verify a person's age while disclosing the minimum necessary personal information. This technical approach allows the state to enforce the age limit without creating a central database of children's identities.
The legislative process saw the government rely on its majority vote to pass the bill after minority parties opposed the measure. Greece has already taken steps to limit youth screen time, having banned mobile phones in schools in 2024. Recent opinion polls suggest that Greek adults broadly support the new restriction on social media use for children.
Mitsotakis said his government aims to push the European Union toward similar protections. The European Commission recently introduced the EU Kids Act, which targets the same issue but sets a lower age threshold. That proposed EU law calls for an outright ban only for children under the age of 13, making Greece's standard more restrictive.
Australia was the first country to enact a full social media ban for children. Implementing age verification in Australia has proven challenging, a difficulty that Greece will now face. The Greek approach uses state-backed apps to address these verification issues, aiming for a smoother rollout than previous international attempts.
