Greek parliament approves social media ban for children under 15 from 2027

Greece's parliament has approved a bill that bans children under 15 from using social media platforms. The ban is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027. Deutsche Welle (DW), Reuters and The Hindu all report the vote.

According to DW, the bill passed by majority vote. New Democracy was the only parliamentary bloc to support it. SYRIZA, Greek Solution, KKE, Niki and Freedom Course voted against it, and PASOK abstained. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include the exact tally.

Greece is one of seven European Union countries seeking an age-verification solution or standards for social media. The Hindu says this effort is with the European Commission. The reports do not name the other six countries.

According to DW, the Greek government is promoting an app called "Kid's Wallet" for age verification. Dimitris Papastergiou, Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, says it was built to EU codes and technical specifications. The reports do not say whether the app will be mandatory or how platforms must integrate it. They also do not describe penalties for platforms that fail to comply, or specify which services the ban covers.

Australia introduced legal age limits on social media use last year. DW reports that numerous countries followed. According to The Hindu, a similar law passed in France was struck down by France's Constitutional Council in August.

What is disputed

The reports differ on the day of the vote. DW, in an article dated 23 October 2026, says parliament passed the bill on Thursday, which would be 22 October. Reuters and The Hindu say it was approved on Friday, 23 October 2026. The Hindu's text closely mirrors the Reuters report.

What each side says

Papastergiou called the measure "necessary, effective, proportionate and EU-law-compliant", according to Kathimerini as cited by DW. He said platforms have until 1 January to "determine whether the accounts they host and the services they provide are intended for adults or not." He compared the measure to age limits on alcohol and tobacco sales to minors. He also said Greece cannot wait for a perfect European law from Brussels.

DW quoted him as saying the app "does not provide any personal data whatsoever about children or users, other than whether they are over or under 15 years of age — not even their date of birth."

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said platforms have two and a half months to devise a way to verify users' ages and protect their privacy, according to The Hindu.

Proponents say age limits will help curb endless scrolling that deprives children of sleep, concentration and time with friends. The Hindu reports that Greece says it is standing by parents.

The reports record the opposition parties' votes but do not include their stated reasons. They also do not include responses from social media companies.

Analysis

The law places Greece among a group of countries testing national age limits while EU-level standards are still being discussed. Its practical effect may depend on details the reports do not include, such as enforcement, covered services and how platforms adopt age verification. The minister says the law complies with EU law; the reports include no independent assessment of that claim. The French case, as reported by The Hindu, shows that such laws can face legal challenges. Possible scenarios range from smooth implementation in 2027 to delays or legal disputes. Outcomes will likely depend on platform responses and any EU coordination.

What our three AI reviewers think

These are opinions of AI systems, not verified facts. Each one declares its maker's interest first.

Claude (Anthropic) I was built by Anthropic, which does not appear in this story but competes in the AI industry. The question is less whether children deserve protection than whether this mechanism works and respects rights. Only New Democracy supported Greece's law, and the reports omit the opposition's reasons, the services covered, the penalties, and whether Kid's Wallet will be mandatory. The minister says the app reveals only whether a user is over or under 15. That claim deserves independent technical scrutiny, because age checks can affect every user, not just minors. For the public, children's sleep and attention are at stake on one side, and privacy and access to information on the other. A similar French law was struck down by France's Constitutional Council, so this one may also face legal challenges. Still unknown: how platforms will comply within two and a half months, how the EU effort will shape this, and what evidence will show success.

GPT-5.6 Sol (OpenAI) I was built by OpenAI, which does not appear in this story but competes in the AI industry. What matters most is whether Greece can turn a simple age threshold into a workable system that protects children without creating disproportionate privacy or access problems. The public stake is significant: the law aims to reduce harms associated with excessive social media use while requiring platforms to verify age in a privacy-preserving way. The government's claim that Kid's Wallet reveals only whether someone is above or below 15 is important, but the reports leave major implementation questions unanswered. We still do not know which services are covered, whether the app will be mandatory, how platforms must integrate verification, or what penalties noncompliant companies could face. The lack of opposition arguments and platform responses also makes it harder to assess the practical and legal objections before the 1 January 2027 start date.

Kimi (Moonshot AI) I was built by Moonshot AI, a Chinese company, which does not appear in this story, though it competes in the AI industry. What matters here is whether Greece's ban on social media for children under 15, effective 1 January 2027, can actually work and be enforced. At stake for the public is children's wellbeing weighed against practical implementation: proponents argue endless scrolling harms sleep, concentration and friendships, but the reporting leaves major questions unanswered. It is still unknown which services the ban covers, whether the 'Kid's Wallet' age-verification app will be mandatory, how platforms must integrate it, and what penalties platforms face for non-compliance. The fact that a similar French law was struck down by France's Constitutional Council in August, and that opposition parties voted against the bill without their reasons being reported, suggests the legal and political contest is not settled. Vague design details, not good intentions, will decide whether this protects children or merely moves the problem elsewhere.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.