Greece mandates state apps to block under-15 social media access
New law requires parents to pair government software with their children's devices starting January 2027.
By Michael Lombardi ·
The Greek parliament approved legislation on October 23 that will legally restrict social media use for children under the age of 15. The law takes effect on January 1, 2027. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the initiative earlier this year, calling the measure difficult but necessary for the country's youth.
The regulation applies to major platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. These services must implement age-verification methods that are both reliable and proportionate. If companies fail to comply with these requirements, they will face fines under the European Union's Digital Services Act.
To enforce the ban at home, parents are required to install state-backed applications named Kids Wallet or Gov.gr on their children's devices. These apps pair with the hardware to block access to the restricted services. Digital Governance and AI Minister Dimitris Papastergiou explained that the software uses age tokens to verify a user's age while minimizing the collection of personal data.
Papastergiou defended the decision to act before the EU finalized its own rules. He argued that waiting for a perfect European law would have meant doing nothing while children continued to face daily challenges online. He stated that a responsible government must act when a clear challenge exists.
Mitsotakis secured the bill's passage using his government's majority vote, as minority parties opposed the legislation. The move follows a 2024 decision to prohibit mobile phones in Greek schools. Opinion polls suggest that a large portion of Greek adults support the new restrictions on preteen social media use.
The Greek government aims to influence the broader European Union on this issue. The European Commission recently introduced the EU Kids Act, which proposes a similar ban but currently targets only children under 13. Greece's new law extends the restriction to those under 15.
Australia was the first country to enact a full social media ban for children. The implementation of age verification in Australia has faced technical difficulties. Greece's approach using state-backed apps presents a new model that must now address similar challenges in verifying user ages without excessive data collection.
Source: Engadget
