Greece passes law banning social media for children under 15

Greece has passed a law banning children under 15 from using social media, with the restrictions set to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Parliament approved the bill late on October 22, following a debate that lasted more than 16 hours, state broadcaster ERT reported.

The governing New Democracy party was the only party to support the bill. PASOK abstained, while SYRIZA, Greek Solution, the Communist Party, Niki and Course of Freedom voted against it.

The ban covers social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Whether a service falls under the rules depends on how it functions, rather than its name, according to Proto Thema.

Parents will not be able to grant permission for children to use the platforms, and existing accounts will not be exempt.

Platforms will have to verify users’ ages. If a service cannot determine a user’s age, it will display a QR code that Kids Wallet, a government app, aza ovsv.

The app will tell the platform only whether the user is over or under 15, without sharing their name or date of birth.

“We do not give platforms any of our children’s personal data whatsoever,” Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said when the government presented the system.

Greece’s broadcasting council and data protection authority will oversee platforms operating in the country. For the largest services, enforcement falls to the European Commission under the Digital Services Act. The law does not introduce new fines for children or their parents.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has given platforms roughly two and a half months to develop age-verification systems that protect users’ privacy.

Greece is also among seven EU countries working with the European Commission on an age-verification tool.

Other countries have taken similar steps, with mixed results. Australia’s ban on social media for under-16s took effect in December 2025.

In France, the Constitutional Council struck down an under-15 ban on August 14, ruling that it went too far in restricting freedom of expression.

Greek opposition parties challenged the new restrictions on both practical and legal grounds. The government defended the measure during the parliamentary debate.

“We don’t have any more time to waste,” Minister of State Akis Skertsos told parliament.