Greece bans social media use by children under 15

Greece’s parliament passed legislation on Friday banning children under 15 from using major social media platforms, Anadolu Agency reported, citing the newspaper Tovima.

The ban is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, and will cover platforms including “Instagram”, “Facebook” and “TikTok”. Other platforms could be added.

The law does not prohibit children from using the internet more broadly, allowing them to continue accessing educational resources and digital communication services.

Platforms will reportedly be responsible for checking users’ ages through a system that uses a digital token to confirm eligibility without disclosing users’ identities.

The measure was approved with support only from the ruling centre-right New Democracy party. The main opposition PASOK abstained, while the other opposition parties voted against it.