Greece Sets the Stage for a Major Shift in Youth Online Access

Social media usage for young people in Europe is about to change significantly in one country. Greece has officially enacted a law that prevents children under the age of fifteen from accessing popular social media platforms without specific safeguards.

The measure, which was announced earlier this year by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is now law. It takes effect on January 1, 2027. This makes Greece one of the first nations in the European Union to impose such a restriction. The legislation targets major services including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. These platforms are required to implement reliable and proportionate age-verification methods to ensure compliance.

Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister for digital governance and AI, argued that waiting for a broader European solution was no longer an option. He noted that children are increasingly immersed in the internet and that the government had a duty to act. He described the bill as difficult but necessary for the nation's digital future.

For parents, the new rules introduce a practical requirement. They must download state-backed applications such as Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These apps pair with their child's device to block access unless authorized. Papastergiou explained that these tools use age tokens to verify age while minimizing the amount of personal data disclosed, thereby protecting user privacy.

There are consequences for platforms that fail to follow the new rules. Non-compliance will result in fines under the existing EU Digital Services Act. The bill passed through the parliament using the majority held by Mitsotakis's government, as minority parties opposed the legislation. However, recent opinion polls suggest that the adult population in Greece broadly supports the move.

This national law builds on previous steps, such as the 2024 ban on mobile phones in schools. Mitsotakis has stated that the government aims to encourage the rest of the EU to follow a similar path. The European Commission has recently proposed the EU Kids Act, though that framework only mandates a ban for children under thirteen. Australia remains the first country to enact a full ban, but it has faced challenges in effectively verifying ages.

Open questions remain about how smoothly the implementation will go. While the law is official, the technical and logistical hurdles of age verification are still being addressed. The coming months will test whether this Greek model can serve as a viable precedent for other nations in the region.