Greece is preparing to introduce a ban on social media access for children and adolescents under the age of 15, according to government sources. Officials say the measure is expected to be announced soon and that working groups have already been established to oversee its implementation. The Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, has stated that his ministry is technically ready to enforce the ban from the day it is formally announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Papastergiou noted that the European Union was compelled last summer to issue a common directive on age verification, adding that Greece is currently the only EU member state that has fully implemented such a system. Age verification in Greece will be carried out through the government-developed Kids Wallet and Wallet applications, which function as digital parental control and identification tools. According to the minister, France is expected to introduce a comparable age-verification mechanism within the next two months, while other countries are likely to adopt simpler systems modeled on Australia’s approach.
Australia was the first country to legislate strict limits on minors’ access to social media. The law came into force on December 10, requiring major platforms to block users under the age of 16. According to Australia’s telecommunications safety regulator, the implementation of the law has already led to the removal of approximately 4.7 million user accounts from specific platforms. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit and X, as well as streaming platforms such as Kick and Twitch, are now legally obliged to deny access to underage users.
Several European countries are now moving in the same direction. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that his government will impose a similar ban, with teenagers under 16 set to lose access to social media platforms starting next week. He described the measure as one of five actions the Spanish government plans to take to curb the influence of major platforms.
Sánchez framed the issue in stark terms, saying that children are being exposed to an online environment never intended for them, characterized by addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation and violence. He pledged that the government would no longer tolerate what he described as a “digital Wild West.”
In France, lawmakers passed a bill last week banning social media use for children under 15 and prohibiting mobile phone use in schools. While the legislation has the support of President Emmanuel Macron, it must still be approved by the Senate before it can take effect. Macron has argued that children’s emotions and mental health should not be treated as commodities by foreign technology platforms and opaque algorithms.
In the United Kingdom, the House of Lords has endorsed a similar ban, though it must still be approved by the House of Commons to become law. Denmark has also announced plans to restrict social media use for children under 15, although its approach is less stringent than Australia’s, as parents will be allowed to grant access to children aged 13 and over.
Portugal is considering legislation that would limit access to social media for teenagers under 16. Under a bill recently submitted to parliament, adolescents aged 13 to 16 would be permitted to use social media only with parental consent, while platforms would be required to implement age- and consent-verification systems compatible with government software. Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Alliance have stated that digital adulthood, defined as autonomous access to targeted platforms and applications, would be set at 16.
In Germany, children and teenagers aged 13 to 16 are currently allowed to use social media only with parental permission, but discussions are underway about tightening the rules further and introducing a full ban for these age groups.
Similar debates are emerging outside Europe. In India, the states of Goa and Andhra Pradesh are examining potential bans on children’s access to social media, driven by growing concerns over mental health in a country with more than one billion internet users. Malaysia passed comparable legislation in November, which is expected to be implemented in the near future.
