Greece Sets January 2027 Deadline for National Under-15 Social Media Ban

15 is the age that will soon define digital access for millions of Greek children, as the nation moves to enforce a sweeping restriction on social media usage for those under that threshold. The legislative process for this measure concluded with the passage of the bill in parliament, marking a decisive step in the country's ongoing effort to regulate the digital environment for its youth. The law is now official and is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. This timeline places Greece among the first nations within the European Union to impose such a specific age-based ban.

The scope of the legislation is broad, explicitly covering major platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. The core requirement for these services is the implementation of age-verification methods that are both proportionate and reliable. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who announced the measure earlier in the year, described the bill as difficult but necessary. He emphasized that the government could not wait for a perfect European-level law to address what he viewed as an immediate challenge. Instead of inaction, the administration chose to act on the grounds that children were increasingly sinking into the internet daily.

Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister for digital governance and AI, articulated the government's position by stating that a responsible government must fulfill its obligations. He noted that waiting for a broader EU framework was an option that would have been easy but ultimately insufficient. The minister highlighted the urgency of the situation, framing the decision as a necessary intervention to protect young users from the growing influence of digital platforms.

Compliance with the new act carries significant weight, as failure to adhere to the rules will result in fines under the existing EU Digital Services Act. The law also introduces a practical mechanism for parents who need to manage their children's access. Parents will be required to download state-backed applications known as Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These apps must be paired with the child's device to effectively block unauthorized access to social media services.

To address privacy concerns, the state-backed applications utilize a technology referred to as age tokens. According to Papastergiou, these tokens are designed to confirm a user's age while minimizing the amount of personal data that is disclosed. This approach aims to balance the need for verification with the protection of individual privacy. The system is intended to be a robust tool for ensuring that only those of the appropriate age can access specific digital spaces.

The passage of the bill was not without political friction. Minority parties in Greece opposed the legislation, leading Prime Minister Mitsotakis to rely on his majority government to push the measure through. Despite this internal opposition, public sentiment appears to favor the change. Opinion polls indicate that the adult population in Greece widely supports the new social media ban for children. This legislative move follows a previous step taken by the nation in 2024, when mobile phones were barred in schools, signaling a broader trend of restricting digital connectivity in educational and daily life for youth.

The Greek government views its domestic law as a catalyst for broader regional change. Mitsotakis has stated that the goal is to push the European Union in the same direction. This ambition aligns with recent moves by the European Commission, which introduced the EU Kids Act. However, the Greek ban is more restrictive in its current form, as the proposed EU law stipulates an outright ban only for children under the age of 13. Greece's choice to set the threshold at 15 suggests a more conservative approach to digital exposure for adolescents.

International precedent plays a role in this development. Australia was the first nation to enact a full social media ban for kids, though the experience has highlighted the challenges of implementing effective age verification. As Greece prepares for the January 2027 deadline, the practicality of these verification methods remains a key factor. The outcome of this pilot, so to speak, may influence how other nations and the EU itself refine their digital age policies in the coming years.