Greece’s parliament has approved a ban on access to social media for children under 15, with age-verification functions in the government’s digital wallet and KidsWallet among the permitted tools for implementing the restriction. The measure is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.
The government submitted the bill to parliament earlier this month. Sponsored by Minister of State Akis Skertsos, it passed by majority after a plenary debate lasting more than 16 hours. Only the governing New Democracy party voted for it in principle; PASOK abstained, while Syriza, Greek Solution, the Communist Party, Niki and Course of Freedom voted against it.
The changes amend Law 5099/2024, adding a new Article 4A to establish the minimum access age for social-networking services. It permits use of the age-verification functionality already established in Greek law for the digital document wallet and the dedicated KidsWallet application. The wording authorizes those mechanisms without naming them as the exclusive means of verification.
The adopted text also defines age using a calendar-year rule: January 1 is treated as the birth date of everyone born within the same year.
During the debate, Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said KidsWallet follows European code and technical specifications established the previous summer. He said the application discloses whether a user is above or below 15, rather than passing on a child’s personal details or date of birth. He also told parliament that platforms would need to assess the ages of the users their accounts and services reach from the January start date.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said social media companies had about two and a half months to develop age-verification systems that protect users’ privacy. The government has framed the restriction as a response to excessive screen time and its effects on children’s sleep, concentration and time with friends.
Greece is among seven EU countries working with the European Commission on a solution for verifying users’ ages online.
The National Council for Radio and Television and the Hellenic Data Protection Authority will supervise compliance with the new age limit.
The legislation includes an explicit European-law contingency: if an EU regulation is adopted governing the same issue, the Greek measure will automatically cease to apply.
Sources: Hellenic Parliament, ERT News, Kathimerini
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
