Greece’s parliament has passed a law banning the use of social media by children under the age of 15, setting the measure to come into effect on January 1, 2027.
The initiative aims to protect minors from the dangers of using social networks and their impact on children’s health and safety. The bill was presented by Akis Skertsos, the Minister of State responsible for coordinating government policies, and was approved with the support of the ruling New Democracy party.
The Greek Minister for Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, Dimitris Papastergiou, described the measure as a necessary, effective and proportional solution, in accordance with the legislation of the European Union.
“It would be very easy to do nothing and just wait for a ‘perfect’ European regulation. But the challenge is exactly this: children are spending more and more time in the online world every day,” declared Papastergiou.
According to him, a responsible government should intervene to deal with this problem. The minister compared the new ban to measures Greece has taken to limit youth access to alcohol and tobacco products.
The law is expected to require platforms to implement mechanisms to verify the age of users, and its implementation will start in early 2027.
Athens’ decision comes at a time when several countries are considering or enacting restrictions on minors’ use of social media amid concerns about online safety, exposure to harmful content and excessive screen time.
