Greece’s Parliament is set to vote on 22 October on a social media ban that would bar children under 15 from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. If passed, the ban would take effect on 1 January 2027.
Minister of State Akis Skertsos, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis and Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou presented the bill on Monday 12 October, Euronews reported.
The bill then went to the relevant parliamentary committee on 13 October. The plenary debate and final vote are scheduled for 22 October.
“We believe in technology and its potential,” Skertsos said, according to Balkan Insight. “That is why we must regulate it with a human-centric approach, particularly when it concerns the health and development of children.”
Recent polls show the social media ban has public support of about 80 per cent. Still, opposition parties have raised objections and reservations during the committee debate, and the vote comes during a pre-election period.
What the ban covers
At first, Greece’s social media ban will apply to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, Balkan Insight reported. Other social networks will be added gradually. It covers only social networks, not internet use in general.
Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Messenger will stay available to teenagers. In addition, European authorities are looking at whether Snapchat belongs in the same category as the banned platforms, Papastergiou said.
The bill requires platforms to use “appropriate, proportionate, and reliable” age-verification methods, Euronews reported. Papastergiou said platforms would use their own technology to work out whether an account belongs to someone under 15.
If they are unsure of a user’s age, they can use the Kids Wallet, Greece’s state age-verification tool. However, platforms will not automatically shut down all accounts belonging to minors on 1 January, the government has said. Instead, they will have to re-verify the age of existing accounts in Greece.
The law is built on the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), Euronews reported. In particular, it rests on Article 28, which covers the protection of minors on online platforms. As a result, violations would trigger the oversight and penalty mechanisms set out in EU law, Balkan Insight reported. The bill does not appear to set separate national fines.
In April, the government first announced its plan to restrict minors’ access to social media. It follows Greece’s 2024 ban on mobile phones in schools. The government also launched parco.gov.gr, a site where parents can find instructions for the parental controls on different devices.
How it compares with Australia
For Greek-Australian readers, the Greek plan will sound familiar. Australia’s social media minimum age took effect on 10 December 2025. It requires platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube to take “reasonable steps” to keep under-16s off their services.
Companies that breach it now face court-imposed fines of up to A$109.2 million, after Parliament doubled the maximum penalty in September 2026. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner enforces the law.
According to eSafety, platforms cut off about 4.7 million accounts in the first weeks. However, the regulator’s March report found that a “substantial proportion” of under-16s were still keeping accounts, creating new ones or getting past age checks. eSafety said in March it was investigating five platforms.
Even so, Greece’s social media ban differs in three ways. It sets the age limit at 15 rather than 16. Penalties also come through the EU’s Digital Services Act rather than through national fines. Finally, platforms can use the state-run Kids Wallet to check ages.
Source: Euronews
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