The Greek Parliament has approved a bill that will ban access to social media for children under 15 from January 1, 2027, Greek public broadcaster ERT reported. The bill, submitted by Greek State Minister Akis Skertsos, was passed by a majority in the plenary hall of parliament yesterday after debates lasting more than 16 hours, BTA reported.
The bill was supported by the ruling party “New Democracy“. The opposition PASOK movement voted “present“, while SYRIZA, the Greek Communist Party, “Greek Solution“, “Niki“ and “Freedom Course“ voted against, ERT said.
The new regulations require social media platforms to implement mechanisms to verify the age of users to ensure that children under 15 years of age do not have access to the services covered by the restriction. The verification must be reliable and carried out in compliance with the requirements for the protection of personal data, according to the new requirements.
The Greek applications developed and maintained by the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance - “Kids Wallet“ and “Gov.gr Wallet“, as well as other technological solutions that comply with national and European legislation, can be used to establish age. The use of a specific application is not mandatory, the information states.
According to the system presented by the Greek government, verification can be carried out by confirming whether a user is above or below a certain age limit, without revealing their exact date of birth or additional personal data.
During parliamentary debates, the Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, Dimitris Papastergiou, defended the new provisions, describing them as a necessary, effective and proportionate solution compatible with European law.
He stressed that from January 1, 2027, platforms will have to verify whether the services they offer and existing user profiles are intended for adults.
State Minister Akis Skertsos said during the debates that the government cannot postpone taking measures to protect the mental health, safety and development of children amid the rapid development of technology.
He noted that that the government has decided to take national measures without waiting for the final adoption of a common European legislative framework. According to him, if the European rules are changed, Greece will bring its national legislation into line with them.
The new Greek regulation is being introduced against the backdrop of discussions in the European Union on broader measures to protect minors on the internet. The European proposal for a “EU Kids Act“ provides for rules not only for social networks, but also for video-sharing platforms, online games, app stores and certain artificial intelligence services, ERT recalls.
The implementation of the new restrictions in Greece is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027.