Greece Passes Law Banning Social Media for Under-15s

Greece's parliament has passed a law banning social media use by people under the age of 15, with the ban set to take effect on January 1, 2027. The law requires social networks to verify users' ages and imposes penalties on companies that fail to comply, according to Al Jazeera.

The plan has been public for most of the year. In February, a senior Greek government source told Reuters that the government was very close to announcing a social media ban for children under 15. In early April, reports said an announcement was expected within days. On April 8, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece would ban social media access for children under 15, and he had first announced the plans in April in a video posted on TikTok.

Mitsotakis has also framed the measure in health terms. In March, he said that addictive social media exposure and endless scrolling were damaging the mental health of children and teenagers. On May 12, he briefed European official McGrath on the initiative, and on July 17 he answered questions about the decision to bar minors under 15 from social media platforms in early 2027.

The vote did not command unanimous support. The opposition party PASOK abstained after pushing for an alternative bill. That proposal would have banned social media for under-13s and given parents parental controls, settings that let them oversee their children's accounts, for 13- and 14-year-olds.

Under the law as passed, the age checks and penalties will apply from the start of 2027. Greece's move comes as other governments have also taken up the question of limiting minors' access to social platforms.