European Digital Regulation: Greece Mandates Age Limits for Social Media Access

Greece has formally enacted legislation that prohibits children under the age of fifteen from accessing major social media platforms, with the law scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. This regulatory move marks one of the first instances within the European Union of a specific national mandate targeting the digital age of online participation. The measure follows an announcement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier this year, who described the proposed bill as a difficult but necessary step for the nation's digital future.

The new legislation applies to prominent digital services including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. It requires these platforms to deploy age-verification methods that are both proportionate and reliable to ensure compliance with the new standards. Non-compliance with the act will result in financial penalties, which are to be enforced under the existing framework of the EU's Digital Services Act.

Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister for digital governance and AI, emphasized the urgency of the situation during the legislative process. He noted that while waiting for a comprehensive European law might have been simpler, the current challenges demanded immediate action. Papastergiou stated that children are increasingly sinking into the internet, and he believes a responsible government is obliged to act in their interest.

For parents, the law introduces a practical requirement to manage their children's digital access. Guardians will need to download state-backed applications known as Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These tools must be paired with the child's device to block unauthorized access to the designated platforms. Papastergiou explained that these applications are engineered to protect user privacy. They utilize age tokens to verify a user's age while minimizing the amount of personal data disclosed to third parties.

The path to passage was not without political friction. Minority parties in the Greek parliament opposed the bill, but the governing majority successfully pushed the legislation through. This new regulation builds on previous efforts by the nation to manage youth technology use, specifically following the 2024 decision to bar mobile phones from schools. Current opinion polls indicate that the adult population in Greece widely supports this new ban on social media for young children.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis has indicated that the domestic law is intended to influence broader regional policy. His stated goal is to push the European Union in the same direction as Greece. This national action coincides with recent efforts by the European Commission, which introduced the EU Kids Act to address similar concerns across the bloc. However, the proposed European legislation stipulates an outright ban only for children under the age of thirteen, a lower threshold than the Greek standard.

Greece is not the first nation to attempt such a digital restriction. Australia previously enacted the first full social media ban for children, though the country has faced significant challenges in implementing effective age-verification systems. The Greek government is now moving forward with its own infrastructure, aiming to establish a functional model for the region as the January deadline approaches.