Digital Age Limits: Greece Mandates Social Media Restrictions for Teens

As European nations debate how to protect minors in an increasingly digital world, Greece has moved ahead of its peers with a concrete legislative solution. The country's parliament has officially ratified a law that prohibits children under the age of fifteen from using major social media platforms. This measure was first proposed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier in the year and is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.

The legislation targets prominent services including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Rather than relying on self-declared age inputs, the law mandates that these companies implement proportionate and reliable age-verification methods. This approach is notable because it is among the first of its kind to be enacted within the European Union. The government believes that existing voluntary measures have been insufficient to address the growing concerns regarding youth engagement with online content.

To support compliance, the state is introducing specific technological tools for families. Parents will be required to download applications named Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These apps are designed to pair with a child's device and block access to social networks unless the age token confirms the user is eighteen or older. The minister of digital governance and AI, Dimitris Papastergiou, explained that these tokens are intended to verify age while minimizing the collection of personal data. This design aims to protect privacy by disclosing only the minimum necessary information to the platform.

The path to passage was not without political friction. Minority parties in the Greek parliament opposed the bill, but the ruling government used its majority to push the measure through. Mitsotakis described the decision as difficult but necessary, arguing that waiting for a perfect European regulation would leave children vulnerable in the interim. He stated that a responsible government must act when children are increasingly sinking into the internet. This stance aligns with opinion polls that show widespread support for the ban among the adult population in Greece.

The move is part of a broader trajectory for Greek digital policy, following the 2024 decision to ban mobile phones in schools. The government aims to use this national law as a catalyst to influence EU-wide standards. The European Commission has recently introduced the EU Kids Act, which currently stipulates an outright ban only for children under thirteen. By setting a higher age threshold, Greece hopes to push the union toward stricter protections. Australia remains the only other nation to have enacted a full social media ban for kids, though it has faced challenges in implementing effective age verification.