Digital Age Restrictions: Greece Mandates Social Media Ban for Under-15s

Athens, Oct. 23, 2026 — Greece has officially enacted a legislative framework prohibiting social media access for children under the age of 15, marking a significant shift in European digital regulation. The new law, which received final parliamentary approval today, is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. This move positions the nation as one of the first within the European Union to implement such a strict age-based restriction on major online platforms.

The legislation targets prominent services including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Under the new rules, these platforms are mandated to implement age-verification methods that are described as both proportionate and reliable. The law was initially proposed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier this year, who characterized the measure as a "difficult but necessary" step to safeguard young users in an increasingly digital world.

Dimitris Papastergiou, the Greek minister for digital governance and AI, defended the domestic action by arguing that waiting for a unified European solution would have been too passive. "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," Papastergiou stated.

Compliance with the new act will be enforced through the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which stipulates fines for non-compliant platforms. To assist families, the government has introduced two state-backed applications: Kids Wallet and Gov.gr. Parents will be required to download these apps and pair them with their children’s devices to block access to restricted platforms unless a verified age token is presented.

The verification system relies on "age tokens," a technology designed to confirm a user’s age while minimizing the collection of personal data. Papastergiou emphasized that this approach prioritizes privacy, ensuring that platforms can verify eligibility without storing excessive personal information. This technical solution aims to balance regulatory enforcement with data protection standards.

The path to enactment was not without political friction. Minority parties in the Greek parliament opposed the bill, leading Prime Minister Mitsotakis to utilize his government’s majority to push the legislation through. Despite the political divide, opinion polls indicate broad support for the ban among the adult population. This follows a previous 2024 decision by the nation to ban mobile phones in schools, signaling a consistent governmental effort to manage children’s digital exposure.

Mitsotakis has stated that the government’s broader objective is to influence the European Union to adopt similar measures. The European Commission has recently introduced the EU Kids Act, which aims to address these concerns at a supranational level. However, that proposed legislation currently stipulates an outright ban only for children under the age of 13, making Greece’s new law more comprehensive in its scope regarding the under-15 demographic.

Globally, Greece follows in the footsteps of Australia, which became the first nation to enact a full social media ban for children. While Australia’s initiative has faced implementation challenges, particularly regarding the practical difficulties of age verification, Greece’s approach offers a new model for other nations. As the January 1, 2027 deadline approaches, attention will turn to how effectively the age token system functions in practice and whether it achieves the intended balance between access and protection.