Greece has become one of the first European countries to legislate a firm minimum age for social media access, with Parliament approving a bill that will bar children under 15 from platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok starting January 1, 2027. The vote exposed deep divisions over how to verify age online without compromising personal data, and the measure passed with support only from the governing New Democracy party.
A contested vote over privacy and timing
The bill cleared its second reading after passing through committee, but it did so without cross-party consensus. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and Plefsi Eleftherias opposed it from the preliminary stage, while PASOK abstained at the final vote. Critics did not necessarily reject the goal of protecting children online; rather, they questioned the method. Their central objection was that the age-verification system lacked sufficient scientific grounding and that Athens was moving ahead of Brussels, legislating nationally before a parallel European framework has been finalized.
Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou rejected the argument that Greece should wait. He said lawmakers could not afford to hold out for "the perfect European law" while, in his words, "the problem of uncontrolled internet use" continues to drive children toward addictive behavior at the expense of their mental health. Akis Skertsos, defending the bill in the chamber, called the regulation "necessary, effective, compatible with Community Law and proportionate," and accused opposition parties of taking a "superficial, sterile, and irresponsible" stance in the debate.
How age verification is meant to work
The mechanism at the heart of the law relies on a digital token system designed to confirm whether a user is over or under 15 without transmitting identifying details such as a full name or exact birth date. Papastergiou pointed to the existing app Kids Wallet as a model, stressing that it "does not monitor any page or any message" and discloses nothing beyond a yes-or-no signal on age eligibility. Platforms will also reportedly be able to rely on state tools like the Gov.gr Wallet to perform this check.
This approach reflects a broader technical debate playing out across Europe: how to confirm a user's age credibly without building a new surveillance layer around minors' identities. Greece says it is working alongside Cyprus, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Denmark on a shared European digital verification solution, which Papastergiou described as technically ready for implementation. He also invoked European Commission conclusions supporting the idea of a minimum age threshold for social network access.
What the law does - and does not - change
The restriction targets major social media platforms specifically, with the possibility that further services could be added later. It does not amount to a broader ban on internet use: children under 15 will still be able to access educational resources and digital communication tools. Responsibility for enforcing the age check falls on the platforms themselves; the law sets no fines or penalties for parents whose children manage to bypass the restriction.
During the debate, PASOK floated an alternative: allowing 13- and 14-year-olds to hold restricted accounts under parental supervision rather than imposing an outright cutoff. The government opted instead for a single national threshold, arguing that a clear line is easier to enforce and understand than a tiered system of supervised access.
A precedent - and a warning - from France
Greek lawmakers are not working in a vacuum. The bill explicitly references France's experience with a comparable measure, which was struck down by the French Constitutional Council. That precedent looms over the Greek law as a reminder that age-verification rules touching on data protection and fundamental rights face real legal risk, particularly when they are not anchored in a broader, harmonized European framework. Whether Greece's token-based system proves resilient to similar scrutiny, both in Greek courts and under EU data protection law, will likely shape how other member states approach the same problem before 2027 arrives.