Greece sets 2027 deadline for under-15 social media access restrictions

Greece has officially enacted a legislative framework that will prohibit children under the age of 15 from using major social media platforms starting in early 2027. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signed off on the measure, which represents one of the first comprehensive bans of its kind within the European Union. The law targets popular services including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X, requiring them to implement robust and proportionate age verification systems to keep younger users off their networks.

The path to this legislation began earlier this year when Mitsotakis first proposed the initiative. He described the decision as difficult but necessary for the country. The bill faced opposition from minority parties in the Greek parliament, but the prime minister’s majority government secured the passage. This move follows a 2024 national ban on mobile phones in schools and aligns with polling data that suggests widespread support among Greek adults for such digital restrictions.

Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister for digital governance and artificial intelligence, defended the timing of the law. He noted that while waiting for a perfect European regulation would have been easier, the current challenge is immediate. Papastergiou argued that children are increasingly immersed in the internet and that a responsible government must act accordingly rather than defer to future legislation.

Compliance with the new act is tied to the European Union’s Digital Services Act, meaning non-compliant platforms could face significant fines. To enforce the ban, parents will be required to download state-backed applications such as Kids Wallet or Gov.gr. These tools will pair with a child’s device to block access to social media. The system relies on age tokens to verify a user's age while minimizing the collection of personal data, a design intended to protect user privacy.

The Greek government views this national law as a pilot for broader continental standards. Mitsotakis has stated that the goal is to encourage the European Union to adopt similar measures. The European Commission recently introduced the EU Kids Act, though that proposal currently stipulates an outright ban only for children under 13. Greece’s threshold of 15 is therefore more protective than the current EU draft.

As the law approaches its effective date of January 1, 2027, the focus will shift to implementation details. Australia was the first nation to enact a full social media ban for children, but it has faced challenges in executing age verification. Greece aims to learn from those early experiences. For now, the nation has set a clear precedent, and other European leaders may look to Athens as they consider their own regulatory approaches for the coming year.