Greece bans social media for children under 15 as EU considers similar legislation

On October 23, 2026, the Greek parliament passed a bill banning children under 15 from accessing social media platforms, effective January 1, 2027. The legislation, championed by Minister of State Akis Skertsos and defended by Minister for Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou, passed with support from the New Democracy party, while opposition parties largely voted against it or abstained. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that platforms have roughly two and a half months to implement age verification mechanisms while maintaining user privacy.

Simultaneously, the European Commission is advancing the EU KIDS Act, a proposed framework introduced on September 17, 2026, aimed at protecting minors from harmful digital services and artificial intelligence. This proposal, which remains open for public consultation until December 3, 2026, seeks to harmonize national regulations across EU member states. It includes strict mandates for platform design, such as disabling default geolocation, notifications, and features that encourage social comparison, like visible 'likes' and beauty filters. The initiative aims to shift the responsibility to technology companies to prove their services are safe by design, protecting minors from addictive algorithms and unwanted contact across social networks, video-sharing platforms, gaming apps, and AI chatbots.