Greece Parliament Passes Law Barring Under-15s From Social Media

Greece's legislature approved a prohibition on social media access for children under 15 on Friday, a measure that takes effect January 1, 2027. The bill now signed into law compels major platforms to deploy age-verification methods that are both proportionate and reliable in determining whether a user is of eligible age. It covers services including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had first disclosed the proposal earlier this year and described the legislation as difficult but necessary. It stands as one of the first measures of its kind enacted within the European Union. The bill cleared parliament after being opposed by minority parties, with Mitsotakis relying on his majority government for passage.

Dimitris Papastergiou, Greece's digital governance and AI minister, defended the decision against those who would delay action. "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.

Enforcement would proceed under penalties set out in the EU's Digital Services Act should the requirements go unmet. On the enforcement side, parents would be required to install state-backed applications known as Kids Wallet or Gov.gr, which link to their child's device and restrict access accordingly. Papastergiou said those tools are built to preserve privacy and reduce data collection, using age tokens to confirm a person's age while limiting how much personal data is disclosed.

Greece previously moved to prohibit mobile phones in schools in 2024. Polling among adults in the country shows broad backing for the new restriction on minors' social media use. Minority parties in the legislature stood against the measure.

Mitsotakis has said his government's goal is to push the European Union toward a similar posture. The European Commission recently introduced the EU Kids Act with that aim, though that law sets out an outright ban only for children under 13. Australia became the first nation to adopt a complete social media ban for young people, but its age-verification requirements have proven difficult to put into practice.