Greece Sets 15 as the New Digital Age Limit

The digital landscape for European minors is shifting as Greece moves to enforce some of the strictest age restrictions in the region. The country has officially enacted legislation prohibiting social media use for children under the age of 15, a measure that will take effect on January 1, 2027.

The bill was approved by the Greek parliament following an announcement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier this year. In describing the measure, Mitsotakis characterized it as difficult but necessary for the nation. This legislation stands out as one of the first of its kind within the European Union, targeting major platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. The core requirement is that these services must implement proportionate and reliable methods to verify user age.

Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister for digital governance and artificial intelligence, defended the domestic approach against the option of waiting for a unified EU standard. He argued that inaction was no longer a viable strategy as young people increasingly spent their days online. Papastergiou stated that a responsible government must act when it is obliged to do so, noting that children are sinking into the internet every day.

To ensure compliance, the law leverages the existing EU Digital Services Act to impose fines on platforms that fail to meet the new standards. Additionally, parents will be required to utilize state-backed applications known as Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These tools must be paired with a child’s device to actively block access to social media services. Papastergiou explained that these apps are engineered to protect privacy by using age tokens, which confirm a user’s age while minimizing the amount of personal data disclosed.

The path to enactment was not without political friction. Minority parties in the Greek parliament opposed the legislation, leading Mitsotakis to rely on his majority government to push the bill through. This move follows a broader trend in the country, which previously banned mobile phones in schools in 2024. Public sentiment appears to back the new restrictions, with opinion polls indicating that the adult population widely supports the social media ban for children.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis has indicated that Athens intends to use its new law as a template for the rest of the continent. He stated that the government’s goal is to push the European Union in the same direction. The European Commission has recently introduced the EU Kids Act to address similar concerns, although that proposed legislation stipulates an outright ban only for children under the age of 13. Greece’s higher age threshold suggests it is aiming to lead the regulatory charge.

The implementation of such bans is not without precedent, though it remains technically complex. Australia was the first nation to enact a full social media ban for kids, but the country has faced challenges in making age verification practical and effective. Greece’s approach relies on specific state-backed applications and age tokens to navigate these implementation hurdles as it prepares for the January 2027 start date.

As the new law takes effect, the focus will turn to how platforms adapt their verification systems and how families manage the new parental controls. The Greek government has set the stage for a significant change in how minors interact with digital spaces, potentially setting a new benchmark for other nations considering similar measures.