Greek Law: Under-15s Barred From Major Social Networks

Greece has enacted legislation that prevents children under the age of 15 from using major social media platforms.

The law takes effect on January 1, 2027. It requires services including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X to implement age-verification systems. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who announced the plan earlier this year, called the bill "difficult but necessary." The measure makes Greece one of the first European Union members to impose such a legal restriction.

Parents will bear the operational burden of enforcing the ban. They must download state-backed applications named Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These tools pair with a child's device to block access to the specified services. The apps utilize "age tokens" to confirm a user's age. Minister Dimitris Papastergiou stated that this method limits the amount of personal data collected while protecting privacy.

Digital governance and AI minister Dimitris Papastergiou justified the move by rejecting a strategy of waiting for European consensus. "It would have been very easy to do absolutely nothing today and wait for the perfect European law. But the challenge is here. Children are sinking into the internet every day, and I believe a responsible government must do what it is obliged to do," he said. Companies that fail to comply with the new verification requirements face fines under the EU's Digital Services Act.

Mitsotakis relied on his government's parliamentary majority to pass the bill. Minority parties opposed the legislation. The move follows a 2024 decision to prohibit mobile phones in Greek schools. Opinion polls suggest that a large portion of Greek adults supports the new restriction on preteen social media use.

The European Commission has introduced the EU Kids Act with a similar objective. However, that proposal calls for an outright ban only for children under 13. Mitsotakis has stated his government aims to push the EU in this direction. Australia was the first nation to enact a full social media ban for children. Implementing age verification there has proven difficult, a challenge Greece's state-backed app approach must now address.