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Greece bans under-15s from social media

Greece bans under-15s from social media

Rule Changes

Platforms must verify ages; enforcement begins January 1, 2027

October 23rd, 2026: Greek parliament approves the ban

Overview

Updated Oct 25

Greece's parliament approved a ban on social media for under-15s on October 23, 2026. It takes effect January 1, 2027. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's New Democracy party passed it alone, after a debate that ran from Thursday into Friday; every opposition party voted against.

Platforms must verify users' ages or face fines of up to 6% of global annual revenue. Greece is one of seven EU countries working with the European Commission on a shared age-verification method, and the government points parents to its Kids Wallet app. France's similar ban was struck down in August 2026 on proportionality grounds, so the same legal question hangs over the Greek law.

Why it matters

Platforms must verify every Greek user's age or pay fines up to 6% of global revenue, setting a template for the EU.

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Key Indicators

15
Minimum age for social media access in Greece
Platforms must confirm a user is at least 15 before granting access, under the law passed October 23, 2026.
6%
Maximum fine on platforms for failing age checks
Calculated against a company's global annual turnover under existing Greek digital services law.
7
EU countries working with Brussels on age verification
Cyprus, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Greece are cooperating with the European Commission on a common method.
Jan 1, 2027
Effective date of the ban
About 10 weeks from the vote, which Mitsotakis described as two and a half months for platforms to build age checks.

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People Involved

Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Prime Minister of Greece
In office; ban passed with his party's votes alone
 Dimitris Papastergiou
Dimitris Papastergiou
Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence
Overseeing age-verification rollout ahead of January 1, 2027
 Adonis Georgiadis
Adonis Georgiadis
Minister of Health of Greece
Backed the ban in parliament as a public health measure

Organizations Involved

Hellenic Parliament
Hellenic Parliament
National legislature
Passed the ban October 23, 2026, on governing-party votes only

Unicameral legislature that approved the under-15 ban by majority vote, adding Article 4A to existing digital services law 5099/2024.
European Commission
European Commission
EU executive body
Reviewed the Greek draft; weighs EU-wide Kids Act rules

EU executive that reviewed Greece's draft under the TRIS notification process and is drafting the EU Kids Act on minor safety.

Timeline

April 2026 January 2027

6 events Latest: October 23rd, 2026 · 3 weeks ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Ban takes effect

    Upcoming Implementation

    Platforms must verify user ages for Greek accounts or face fines up to 6% of global revenue.

  2. Greek parliament approves the ban

    Latest Legislative

    Law passes by majority vote despite parliamentary scientific service warnings on definitions and proportionality.

  3. France's similar ban struck down

    Legal

    French Constitutional Council rules analogous blanket prohibition unconstitutional in decision 2026-91 DC.

  4. Commission says age limit complies with DSA

    Regulatory

    Detailed opinion finds a minimum age floor compatible with Article 28 of the Digital Services Act.

  5. Draft law sent to European Commission

    Regulatory

    Greece files the draft with the Commission under the TRIS procedure for internal market review.

  6. Mitsotakis announces plan to ban under-15s

    Statement

    Prime minister says Greece will ban social media access for children under 15 from January 1, 2027.

Scenarios

1

Social media ban takes effect, platforms build age checks

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Greek government officials including Minister Papastergiou

Platforms adopt age-verification tools before January 1, 2027. The state's Kids Wallet and Gov.gr Wallet apps issue digital 'age tokens' confirming only whether a user is over 15. Greece's oversight agencies monitor compliance, and early fines set precedent. This is the base case the government expects, with a six-month runway designed to avoid disruption.

2

Court blocks the ban, citing French precedent

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Nomoprisma legal analysis; Greek parliament's scientific service

A platform or rights group challenges the law before the Greek Council of State or asks the EU's top court for a preliminary ruling. The argument follows the French Constitutional Council's August 2026 decision, which rejected a blanket prohibition because it covered all services without assessing risk to each minor. The law's own scientific service flagged this as the weakest point, and Greece has no existing court precedent on point.

3

EU Kids Act supersedes the national law

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: European Commission; Article 6 of the Greek law

The Commission's proposed regulation on minors' online safety passes, establishing a common 13-to-15 age framework with parental oversight across member states. Greece's law contains a clause that suspends the national ban automatically if a European regulation covers the same ground. Parliament would then decide whether to keep its 15-year floor or align with the EU standard.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 2024

Australia's under-16 social media ban (December 2024)

Australia's parliament passed the world's first social media minimum-age law, banning under-16s from platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X. The law made platforms responsible for enforcing the age floor, not parents or children.

Then

Platforms began rolling out age-verification systems and Australia became the reference point for age-gating debates globally.

Now

Countries including Greece, Brazil, Canada, and Indonesia moved to copy or adapt the Australian model.

Why this matters now

Greek officials cited Australia's approach as their template, lowering the age floor from 16 to 15 and keeping the same platform-side enforcement model.

August 2026

France's social media age ban struck down (August 2026)

France's Constitutional Council ruled a similar blanket prohibition unconstitutional in decision 2026-91 DC of August 14, 2026. The court found the law covered all online services indiscriminately and offered no risk assessment for individual minors.

Then

France's general ban fell; the ruling became the main legal precedent against broad age restrictions in Europe.

Now

The Greek parliament's scientific service cited the decision as a warning before the Greek vote.

Why this matters now

Greece's law faces the same proportionality test, and any legal challenge will likely turn on whether a blanket ban can survive where France's could not.

Sources

(14)
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Ministry of Health of Greece Reuters CNBC TV18 Nomoprisma Deutsche Welle The Verge Engadget ΤΑ ΝΕΑ TechRadar Independent Online (South Africa) Al Jazeera Reuters (via StreetInsider) franceinfo To Vima