Greece's parliament has passed a social media ban for children under 15, which starts on Jan. 1, 2027. Reuters reported the vote on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, without a vote count. The rules below come from the government's April explainer, published before the vote, plus ministers' remarks reported since.

What platforms must do

  • Verify ages. The government's April explainer says platforms must use reliable age verification, and must re-verify the age of every existing Greek account.
  • No cliff on Jan. 1. The explainer says access is not cut off abruptly that day and that enforcement is phased.
  • Kids Wallet option. Kids Wallet is Greece's age-verification app, live since spring 2025. Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said it tells a platform only whether a user is above or below the age limit, with no birth date or other personal data. The sources do not say platforms must use it.
  • Detect ages themselves. An Oct. 5 report on Papastergiou's remarks says platforms must also spot real ages, including through their own algorithms.
  • Move quickly. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis gave platforms about two and a half months to find a privacy-protecting way to verify ages.

Which apps are covered

The government covers services where users create profiles, post content and interact publicly, using the EU Digital Services Act's definitions. It names Facebook, Instagram and TikTok as examples and excludes private messaging. The explainer gives no closed list of covered apps. A pre-vote report from Oct. 17 adds LinkedIn to the first group, with other networks added gradually, and says WhatsApp and Messenger stay open to teenagers. Check those details against the final law once it is published.

Enforcement and fines

Greece's telecom regulator EETT, its Digital Services Coordinator, supervises the rules with the Data Protection Authority. Cases against platforms based elsewhere go to the coordinator in the platform's home EU country or to the European Commission under the Digital Services Act.

The fines come from that EU law, not a Greek schedule. The explainer lists:

  • Up to 6% of global turnover.
  • Daily fines until a platform complies.
  • Restrictions on operating.
  • Possible GDPR fines on top.

It gives no separate Greek fine table. Minister of State Akis Skertsos put the 6% ceiling at as much as 48 billion euros ($56 billion) for three of the largest tech firms.

How it compares

  • Australia. It was the first country to pass a similar law, according to the Oct. 23 wire report, and sets the age at 16. The explainer says Greece, unlike Australia, works inside the EU framework, so it cannot enforce from day one. Skertsos rejected opposition claims that Australia's ban has failed.
  • EU process. The explainer says the measure goes through the EU's three-month TRIS review, the EU check on draft national rules. Its timeline has TRIS in Q2 2026, a vote in Q3, platform compliance in Q3 and Q4, and enforcement in Q1 2027. Papastergiou said the EU's own rules could take about 20 months, so Greece went national first and says it will adjust once European legislation is final.
  • France. A similar French law was struck down by the Constitutional Council in August.

Greece is one of seven EU countries working with the European Commission on an age-verification solution (Oct. 23 wire report). Opposition parties criticised the blanket ban, citing weak scientific grounds and vague age-verification rules. The governing New Democracy party backed it.

What to watch

For users, the practical change is age checks on Greek accounts: expect platforms to ask Greek users to prove their age, including on existing accounts, as enforcement phases in during 2027. Also watch for the final law text and the list of covered apps. For a related case on child protection and a big platform, see Meta's $25 billion New Mexico penalty. For another Australian ruling on tech platforms, see Apple ordered to open iOS in Australia.