Greece Mandates Digital Age Gates for Under-15s

The government of Greece has officially enacted a legislative framework that prohibits children under the age of 15 from accessing major social media platforms. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who initially proposed the measure earlier in 2026, has secured the parliamentary approval for the bill, which he previously characterized as "difficult but necessary." The legislation is set to take effect on January 1, 2027, marking a significant shift in how European digital governance handles the intersection of childhood and online connectivity.

The new statute explicitly targets widely used services including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Under the requirements of the act, these platforms are mandated to implement age-verification methods that are both proportionate and reliable. Compliance is not voluntary; failure to adhere to the new standards will result in fines levied under the existing EU Digital Services Act. This enforcement mechanism ensures that platforms cannot ignore the age restrictions imposed by the Greek state.

Dimitris Papastergiou, Greece’s minister for digital governance and AI, defended the urgency of the move against the backdrop of broader European legislation. In a statement regarding the passage of the bill, Papastergiou noted, "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." His comments highlight a strategic choice to act domestically rather than await a unified continental approach.

To enforce the ban, the government has introduced a specific technical infrastructure for households. Parents will be required to download state-backed applications, identified as Kids Wallet or Gov.gr, which must be paired with their child’s devices. These tools are designed to block access to restricted platforms for eligible users. Papastergiou explained that these applications utilize "age tokens" to confirm a user's age while minimizing the amount of personal data disclosed, aiming to balance strict access control with privacy protections.

The path to enactment was not without political friction. Minority parties in the Greek parliament opposed the legislation, leading Mitsotakis to rely on his government’s majority to push the bill through. Despite this division within the legislature, the move aligns with a broader trend in the country’s digital policies. In 2024, Greece had already implemented a ban on mobile phones in schools, and current opinion polls indicate that the adult population widely supports the new restrictions on social media for children.

The domestic law is also intended to serve as a catalyst for broader European reform. Mitsotakis has stated that his government’s goal is to push the European Union in the same direction. The European Commission has recently introduced its own proposal, the EU Kids Act, which seeks to standardize these protections across the bloc. However, the EU proposal currently stipulates an outright ban only for children under the age of 13, a threshold lower than the 15-year cutoff selected by Athens.

The stakes of this implementation extend beyond Greek borders, as the nation’s approach offers a live test case for the challenges of digital age verification. Australia became the first country to enact a full social media ban for kids, but the practical implementation of age verification has proven difficult. Greece’s model, which combines legal mandates with specific state-backed app ecosystems, will be closely watched by other EU nations seeking to balance parental control with user privacy in the coming year.