Greece’s parliament has officially approved a law that will prohibit children younger than 15 from using major social‑media platforms, a measure first announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier this year. The legislation, which the prime minister described as “difficult but necessary,” is one of the first of its kind in the European Union and is set to take effect on 1 January 2027.
The ban applies to services such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X, and requires these platforms to implement reliable, proportionate age‑verification systems. Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister responsible for digital governance and artificial intelligence, said the government could have waited for a Europe‑wide solution, but “children are sinking into the internet every day, and I believe a responsible government must do what it is obliged to do.”
Companies that fail to meet the requirements will face fines under the EU’s Digital Services Act. In addition, parents will be required to install state‑backed applications—Kids Wallet or Gov.gr—linked to their child’s device to block access. Papastergiou explained that these apps use “age tokens” to confirm a user’s age while limiting the amount of personal data collected, thereby protecting privacy.
The bill faced opposition from Greece’s minority parties, but Mitsotakis used his majority to push it through. The move follows a 2024 decision to ban mobile phones in schools, and recent opinion polls indicate strong support for the social‑media ban among Greek adults.
Mitsotakis has said his administration aims to encourage the European Union to adopt similar measures. The European Commission recently unveiled the EU Kids Act, which proposes a total ban only for children under 13. Australia was the first country to implement a complete social‑media ban for minors, though it has struggled with the practicalities of age verification.