Greece Moves to Restrict Social Media for Young Children

Greece's parliament has approved a law that will restrict access to social media platforms for children under 15 years old. The law, which was first announced earlier this year by the country's prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will go into effect on January 1, 2027. This measure is among the first of its kind in the European Union, and it will apply to platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

The law requires that social media services use proportionate and reliable age-verification methods to ensure that children under 15 are not accessing these platforms. Mitsotakis described the measure as 'difficult but necessary,' and the digital governance and AI minister, Dimitris Papastergiou, said that the challenge of children spending more time online every day has prompted the government to act responsibly. He explained that a responsible government must do what it is obliged to do, even if it was easier to wait for a perfect European law.

Parents who wish to allow their children access to social media will need to use state-backed apps called Kids Wallet or Gov.gr, which will be paired with their child's device to block access. These apps are designed to protect privacy and minimize data collected by using 'age tokens' that can confirm someone's age while minimizing the disclosure of their personal data.

Failure to comply with the law will lead to fines under the EU's Digital Services Act. The legislation faced opposition from Greece's minority parties, but Mitsotakis used his majority government to pass the bill. The law has received strong support from the adult population, and the government's goal is to push the European Union in this direction as well.

The European Commission recently introduced the EU Kids Act to restrict social media use for children, but that law will only impose an outright ban on children under 13 years old. Australia was the first nation to enact a full social media ban for kids, but implementing age verification has proven challenging. Greece's law will go into effect in just a few months, and it is likely to be closely watched by other countries in the European Union.