Greek parliament committees approve social media ban for under-15s

Greece is one vote away from banning social media for children under 15. On Monday 19 October two parliamentary committees approved the bill with the votes of the ruling New Democracy party, which holds 158 of the 300 seats. Opposition parties reserved their position, and the plenary vote is scheduled for 22 October. If the bill passes, the ban takes effect on 1 January 2027 and will be checked through the state Kids Wallet app or other age verification tools.

Who is covered

The ban first applies to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, with other social networks to be added gradually. The law looks at whether a service works as a social network, not at its name. WhatsApp and Messenger stay available to teenagers. Whether Snapchat falls into the same category is being reviewed by EU authorities, Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said. The bill does not limit internet use in general or smartphone ownership.

Age is counted by year of birth: everyone born in the same year is treated as turning 15 on 1 January. In 2027 children born in 2012 are allowed in, and those born in 2013 have to wait until 1 January 2028. Parental consent cannot override the limit. Existing accounts are not exempt: platforms must re-check the age of accounts already open in Greece, To Vima and ProtoThema report.

How age will be checked

Typing in a date of birth will no longer be enough. Platforms must use methods that are "appropriate, proportionate and reliable". If a platform is sure the user is under 15, it blocks access. If it cannot tell, it shows a QR code that the user scans with Kids Wallet. The app sends only a yes or no answer to the question "over 15?". "Kids Wallet does not even provide a date of birth, only a flag," Papastergiou said. Gov.gr Wallet and other systems that meet EU standards can also be used, and nobody has to upload an ID document.

Adults are affected too. Tech Times, citing AP, reports that adults will have to confirm through Kids Wallet that they are over 15, and repeat the check every six months. The Greek explainers in To Vima and ProtoThema do not mention a regular check for adults. The final text after the vote will show which version is right.

Fines and workarounds

The bill creates no new national fines, and children and parents are not penalised. Platforms that do not comply face the EU Digital Services Act, which protects minors in Article 28. Complaints go to the telecoms regulator EETT, which passes them to the regulator of the country where the platform is based, and the European Commission handles the largest platforms. "Platforms now have a very strong incentive to act on age verification, because if they don't, they will pay," Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said.

Ministers admit that a child can lie about their age, use someone else's account or switch on a VPN to change their location. According to To Vima, the government is discussing additional checks with tech companies, including signs of VPN use, the language of the device and data from the mobile phone. Officials concede that no system will stop every attempt and that children may move to smaller platforms with weaker rules.

Greece and other countries

The government announced the plan in April, and polls show about 80% support. Australia already bans social media for under-16s, but in March 2026 its regulator eSafety found that a "substantial proportion" of children still had accounts or had got around the checks. How other countries set the age limit is collected in our country-by-country list, which we have updated with Greece.