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

Fifteen years old is the new dividing line for digital citizenship in Greece. As of this week, the country’s parliament has officially approved a legislation that restricts social media use for anyone younger than that age. The measure is not just a proposal; it is a binding law that will become active on January 1, 2027. This makes Greece one of the first countries within the European Union to implement such a specific age-based restriction on digital platforms.

The scope of the law is broad. It targets major services that have become central to daily communication and entertainment, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Under the new rules, these companies are required to implement age-verification methods that are both proportionate and reliable. This means platforms can no longer rely on simple self-declarations or basic birthday checks. They must use more robust systems to ensure that users under the age of fifteen are not accessing these networks without proper oversight.

The push for this legislation has been led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who announced the plan earlier this year. He described the bill as difficult but necessary for the nation's future. Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister for digital governance and AI, emphasized the urgency of the situation. He noted that it would have been easy for the government to wait for a broader European solution, but he argued that children are increasingly spending time online. In his view, a responsible government must act immediately rather than waiting for a perfect international framework.

Compliance with the new rules will be enforced through existing financial penalties. If platforms fail to adhere to the requirements, they will face fines under the EU's Digital Services Act. This provides a clear economic incentive for tech companies to upgrade their verification systems. The law also places a specific responsibility on parents. They are required to download state-backed applications known as Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These apps must be paired with their child's device to block access to the restricted social media services.

The technical approach to age verification is designed to balance security with privacy. Papastergiou explained that the state-backed apps utilize what are called age tokens. These digital tokens allow the system to confirm a user's age without requiring the platform to see all of the child's personal data. This method aims to minimize the amount of information collected by third-party services. It represents a significant shift in how digital age gates are constructed, moving away from broad data collection toward more targeted verification.

The political path to passing this law was not without friction. Minority parties in the Greek parliament opposed the measure. However, Prime Minister Mitsotakis was able to push the bill through by leveraging the support of his majority government. This decisive action highlights the government's commitment to the policy. It also suggests a stronger stance on digital regulation compared to other European nations that may still be debating the details.

Public sentiment in Greece appears to be largely in favor of the change. Opinion polls indicate that a significant portion of the adult population supports the ban. This is consistent with previous regulatory moves by the nation. In 2024, Greece already implemented a ban on mobile phones in schools. The current social media ban extends this protective logic to the devices that students and children use outside the classroom.

Greece sees this national law as a stepping stone for the broader continent. Mitsotakis has stated that the goal is to encourage the European Union to adopt a similar direction. The European Commission has recently introduced the EU Kids Act, which aims to harmonize rules across the bloc. However, that proposed legislation currently stipulates an outright ban only for children under the age of thirteen. Greece's new law is more aggressive, raising the threshold to fifteen and setting a potential precedent for other member states.

The implementation of such a ban is not without its challenges. Australia was the first nation to enact a full social media ban for kids, and its experience has shown that verifying ages can be technically difficult. Platforms have struggled to find methods that are secure enough to prevent adults from bypassing the system while being simple enough for children to use. Greece's adoption of age tokens and state-paired apps is an attempt to navigate these complexities. As the January 2027 deadline approaches, the success of this law will depend on how well these verification tools function in the real world.