Greece passes social media access ban for minors

Greece's Parliament passed a law in the early hours of Friday that will prohibit individuals under 15 years old from accessing social media starting January 1, 2027. The measure, titled "Ban on the use of social media services by minors," was adopted by the government majority from the New Democracy party, led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Law includes age verification and sanctions

The law includes provisions for age verification mechanisms, severe sanctions against platforms for non-compliance, and alignment with the European proposal for regulation known as the Kids Act. The law also introduces a new application called Kids Wallet, which does not transmit personal data of users except to indicate whether they are older or younger than 15 years old.

Minister defends the law as necessary and effective

The Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, Dimitris Papastergiou, described the law as "an effective, necessary, and compatible with European law solution" to address minors' addiction to social media. He emphasized that the application was based on technical specifications defined by Europe and noted that it would be "very easy to do nothing and wait for a perfect European law," but it is necessary to "send the message that uncontrolled internet use, which leads children to addiction at the expense of their mental health, can no longer continue."

Opposition parties criticize the law

Opposition parties criticized the law. The main opposition socialist party, Pasok, voted "present" but criticized certain provisions of the text, proposing an alternative solution that would ban access for those under 13 years old and provide parental control for those aged 13 to 14 years old. The radical left party Syriza criticized the "horizontal ban" of the law, with deputy Elena Akrita stating that "the protection of children cannot mean their exclusion."

Greece joins global trend on social media restrictions

Prime Minister Mitsotakis had previously announced his intention to adopt this measure in April on TikTok, a platform popular among young users. Similar measures have been adopted in other countries, including Australia, which banned social media for those under 16 years old since the end of 2025. More than twenty countries around the world have implemented similar restrictions targeting minors under 15 or 16 years old, according to a recent count by AFP.

Greece leads EU in social media access restrictions

Greece is one of the first countries in the European Union to legislate to prohibit access to social media for those under 15 years old. Austria, Slovenia, Denmark, and Spain have also taken similar steps to protect adolescents from addictive algorithms of social media. France had adopted a similar law for minors under 15 years old, but the Constitutional Council censured this measure a month later as "disproportionately" infringing on their freedom of expression.