Greece's social media ban for children under 15 will take effect on January 1, 2027

Following global social media restrictions for minors, Greece has officially approved landmark legislation banning children under 15 from accessing major platforms.

Key details of Greece social media ban:

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, the ban is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, giving social media platforms roughly two and a half months to implement compliant age-verification mechanisms.

To protect minor privacy, platforms can utilize state-backed tools like the Kids Wallet or Gov.gr Wallet. These systems use tokenized verification to send a secure, binary yes/no response to platforms confirming whether a user meets the age threshold, without exposing personal data or exact birthdays.

The calendar year rule:

The legislation treats January 1 as the official birthday for everyone born within the same calendar year. For example, children born in 2012 meet the age threshold starting January 2027, even if their actual birth date falls later in the year.

Oversight is managed by Greece's data protection authority and broadcasting council, while enforcement for major services falls under the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA). 

Notably, the law introduces no direct criminal penalties for children or their parents.

Greece is among seven European Union countries seeking an age verification solution with the European Commission.

The country is standing by parents to help curb the "endless scrolling” that deprives children of sleep, concentration and time with their friends

As reported, Greek government introduced the measure to combat digital addiction, sleep deprivation, and the exposure of minors to harmful online content.

This follows similar international regulatory pushes, such as Australia's digital restrictions for minors, as European nations increasingly look for standardized age-verification frameworks.