Greece bans social media for under-15s, with fines up to 6% of global turnover

The skim

• Greece has passed a law banning children under 15 from social media. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
• Enforcement falls on the platforms. They have to verify ages reliably or face fines of up to 6% of global turnover, and Greece's Kids Wallet app can confirm a user is over 15 without sharing anything else.
• Only the governing New Democracy party voted for it. The government calls Greece the first EU country to set rules like these.

What passed

Greece's parliament approved the bill, titled "Prohibition of the use of online social networking services by minors under 15," in a session that ran from Thursday into Friday. The government announced the result in a joint press release on Friday. The law sets 15 as the minimum age for social networks and makes platforms responsible for reliable age verification. It applies only to social networking services, not private messaging or educational use.

The vote split along party lines. New Democracy backed the bill, PASOK voted "present," and SYRIZA, Greek Solution, KKE, Niki and Course of Freedom voted against, Kathimerini reported, citing the ANA-MPA news agency. PASOK had pushed an alternative: a ban for under-13s, with parental controls for 13- and 14-year-olds, AFP reports.

How the age checks work

The law puts the burden on the companies. "The responsibility for implementation belongs to the platforms," Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou told parliament, adding that they face fines of up to 6% of their global turnover. (Quotes in this story are translated from Greek.)

When a user's age is in doubt, platforms can use Greece's Kids Wallet app. Papastergiou insisted it gives platforms no personal data "other than whether they are over or under 15 years of age — not even their date of birth," DW reports. Greece is also one of seven countries, alongside Cyprus, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy and Spain, working with the European Commission on an EU-wide age-verification system.

Why it matters

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the ban in April, in a video on TikTok. It now becomes a test of whether a single EU member can make the rule stick. The government says the law is built on the EU's Digital Services Act and calls Greece the first EU country to adopt rules of this kind. Brussels' own proposal, the EU Kids Act, is still being negotiated, and Minister of State Akis Skertsos said Greek law will adapt once it's final.

For Meta, TikTok and others, the practical change is that typing in a birthday will no longer be enough in Greece. Australia was the first country to ban social media for kids, setting the limit at under 16, and more than 20 countries have since passed similar laws, according to an AFP tally. Each new law raises the pressure for one age-check system that works across borders. Critics, including free-speech advocates, question how well bans like this can be enforced.

What's next

Platforms have until Jan. 1 to work out which of their accounts and services are aimed at adults. The first real test will be how many Greek teens get past the checks, and whether the EU's own rules arrive before other member states write their own.

Sources: Greek government (in Greek), Kathimerini (in Greek), AFP and DW.