Greece is expected to ban social media for children under the age of 15, the country’s prime minister said Wednesday, joining countries including Spain and Australia that are cracking down on social media usage amid concerns that online platforms are harming children.
The legislation, which has little opposition and is expected to pass this summer, would come into effect Jan. 1, 2027, the Greek leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, noting that Greece was at the forefront of the movement to reduce the negative impact of social media on children. The moves have underscored the differences between some countries, particularly in Europe, and the United States over their approaches to technology and free speech.
“We decided to proceed with something difficult but necessary — banning access to social media for children under 15,” Mr. Mitsotakis said in a video posted to social media. He spoke directly to children, introducing his remarks by saying “6-7 — Now that I have your attention,” using a phrase that spread rapidly among adolescents last year and left many parents scratching their heads.
“I talk to a lot of parents who say roughly the same thing: that their children aren’t sleeping properly, get anxious easily, are on their phones a lot,” he said. “I also talk to a lot of you who say you’re tired of comparisons, of comments, of the constant pressure to be there all the time.”
Mr. Mitsotakis said the government does not want to distance children from technology, which can be a source of inspiration, knowledge and creativity. “But the addictive design of certain applications, the profit model that is based on your attention, on how long you spend in front of your phone screens, and which deprives your own innocence and freedom, has to be stopped at some point.”
He did not specifically name any social media companies, and officials later said the ban would not apply to messaging apps.
Google, which owns YouTube; TikTok; and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But Google has previously argued that restrictions would make children less safe online because they would use YouTube without an account, removing the parental controls and safety filters built to protect them. Meta has called for “a better way forward, which is age verification and parental approval at the app store level.”
Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16 in January. Other countries, including France, Malaysia, Indonesia, Denmark, are considering or working on similar measures.
Some critics have questioned how useful such bans are, arguing that the restrictions would push children into less-regulated parts of the internet.
Dimitris Papastergiou, Greece’s digital governance minister, told reporters that the new measures would require digital platforms to verify the age of users and that platforms not complying with the measure would face fines under the European Union’s digital services act.
Officials said that technical details would be fleshed out in the coming months, but that the aim is to use a state-backed mobile app installed on a child’s device and linked to their parent’s account to restrict access. That app, called Kids Wallet, is already being used by parents to limit their children’s screen time and to restrict purchases of age-restricted goods such as alcohol and tobacco.
Mr. Mitsotakis has also called on the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, for action across the 27-country bloc to curb social media access for minors.He proposed an E.U.-wide age-verification program for social media users 15 and older.
“I’m sure that many of the youngest will be angry with me. If I were your age, maybe I would be too,” Mr. Mitsotakis said. “If you disagree, I want you just to think about it and discuss it with your friends. If something makes us feel more anxious, worse, less good than we are, then maybe it’s good to put on the brakes.”
He also had a message to parents. “No law can substitute your own presence,” he said. “This policy is simply a tool to help you.”
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