15: Greece Sets the Age Limit for a New Social Media Ban

The debate over how much screen time is too much for young people has moved from parental living rooms to legislative halls, with Greece now taking a decisive step in the direction of regulatory intervention. The nation has officially enacted a law that prohibits children under the age of 15 from using major social media platforms, a move that positions Athens as a pioneer in a region where digital governance is still largely fragmented.

The legislation, which is set to take effect on January 1, 2027, applies to widely used services such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. The core requirement of the bill is that these platforms must implement age-verification methods that are both proportionate and reliable. This is not a temporary measure; it is a permanent structural change to how access is granted to minors in the country.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who first proposed the measure earlier in the year, described the bill as "difficult but necessary." His government’s majority allowed the bill to pass despite opposition from minority parties, signaling a strong political will to enforce the rule regardless of partisan friction. The timing is notable, as it arrives before a broader European framework is fully settled.

Dimitris Papastergiou, Greece's minister for digital governance and AI, argued that waiting for a perfect European solution was not a viable option. "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 stated. This sentiment reflects a growing anxiety among policymakers about the pace of digital immersion among youth.

Compliance with the new law will be enforced through the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which provides the mechanism for fining platforms that fail to meet the new standards. For families, the system introduces a dual-layer approach: parents will be required to download state-backed applications, specifically Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These apps will be paired with the child's device to actively block access to restricted platforms.

To address privacy concerns often raised by age-gating systems, the government has emphasized the use of "age tokens." According to Papastergiou, these tokens are designed to confirm a user's age while minimizing the amount of personal data disclosed to third-party services. This technical detail is crucial for a law that seeks to balance protection with the preservation of digital privacy.

The stakes of this legislation extend beyond Greece’s borders. Mitsotakis has stated that the government’s goal is to push the European Union in the same direction. The European Commission has recently introduced the EU Kids Act, but that proposed legislation only mandates an outright ban for children under 13. Greece’s move to age 15 suggests a more aggressive stance on digital maturity.

This approach follows Australia, which was the first nation to enact a full social media ban for children. However, Australia’s experience has highlighted the practical difficulties of implementing robust age verification at scale. With opinion polls in Greece showing wide support among adults for the new ban, the government appears confident that the social contract supports this shift, building on previous measures such as the 2024 ban on mobile phones in schools.