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Two new articles covering this weeks news: 1. EU Commission age verification app (April 15) with parental options guide 2. Cyprus under-15 social media ban (April 16) Also updates Greece article Cyprus section and global country data. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
114 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
114 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Greece to Ban Social Media for Under-15s from 2027"
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date: 2026-04-08
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description: "Greece announces a ban on social media for children under 15, joining a growing global movement to protect young people online. The ban takes effect January 2027."
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tags: ["child protection", "legislation", "Greece", "social media ban", "age verification", "Europe", "Cyprus"]
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categories: ["legislation"]
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author: "Agiliton"
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slug: "greece-social-media-ban-under-15"
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translationKey: "greece-social-media-ban"
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---
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Greece has announced it will ban children under 15 from using social media — and the announcement came in an unusual way. On April 8, 2026, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis posted a video on TikTok to announce a ban on... TikTok (and other platforms) for young users.
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"We decided to proceed with something difficult but necessary — banning access to social media for children under 15," the Prime Minister said in his video message.
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## What Exactly Is Being Banned?
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Starting **January 1, 2027**, children under 15 in Greece will no longer be allowed to use major social media platforms. Here is what is affected:
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**Banned platforms:**
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- Facebook
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- Instagram
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- TikTok
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- Snapchat
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- X (formerly Twitter)
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- Other platforms that rely on "endless scrolling" and user-generated content
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**Still allowed:**
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- WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber (messaging apps)
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- YouTube (video platform)
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- Video calling apps
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The distinction is clear: apps designed for communication stay, while platforms built around addictive feeds and algorithms get restricted.
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## Why Is Greece Doing This?
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The Greek government cited three main reasons:
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1. **Mental health concerns** — Research from Imperial College London (2026) found that children using social media more than 3 hours daily are significantly more likely to develop depression and anxiety.
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2. **Addictive design** — Social media algorithms are specifically engineered to keep users scrolling. Prime Minister Mitsotakis called out "the addictive design of some apps" and their "profit-driven" algorithms.
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3. **Sleep problems** — Multiple studies link heavy social media use among young people to poor sleep quality, which affects school performance, mood, and physical health.
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## Greece Joins a Growing Global Wave
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Greece is not alone. Countries around the world are taking similar steps:
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| Country | Age Limit | Status | Key Detail |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| **Australia** | Under 16 | Enforced (Dec 2025) | First country globally; fines up to AUD 49.5M |
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| **Indonesia** | Under 16 | Enforced (Mar 2026) | Companies summoned for non-compliance |
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| **France** | Under 15 | Passed (Apr 2026) | Arcom regulator blacklist approach |
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| **Greece** | Under 15 | Announced (Apr 2026) | Takes effect Jan 2027 |
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| **Cyprus** | Under 15 | Announced (Apr 2026) | EU age verification app + Digital Citizen |
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| **Norway** | Under 15 | Proposed | Bill in progress |
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## Does It Actually Work? The Australian Experience
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Australia became the first country to enforce a social media ban for under-16s in December 2025. Four months later, the results are mixed: studies suggest that around **70% of children** still found ways to access banned platforms.
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This raises an important question: can bans really work when determined teenagers know how to get around restrictions? Critics argue that bans push young people to less-safe corners of the internet rather than keeping them off it entirely.
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Two Australian teenagers — Noah Jones and Macy Neyland — are even challenging the ban in court, arguing it disregards children's rights.
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## The Age Verification Problem
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To enforce a ban, platforms need to know how old their users are. But verifying age online is surprisingly difficult:
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- **Face scans** — AI can estimate age from photos, but raises serious privacy concerns. Who stores this biometric data?
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- **ID checks** — Effective, but many young people do not have government-issued ID
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- **Privacy paradox** — Banning social media to protect children's privacy requires collecting even more personal data to verify ages
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Greece, along with France, Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Cyprus, is part of an **EU age verification pilot program** testing solutions that link to national population registries.
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## Update: Cyprus Follows with Its Own Ban
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Just eight days after Greece's announcement, Cyprus followed suit. On April 16, 2026, President Nikos Christodoulides announced that children under 15 will no longer be allowed to use social media in Cyprus — making it the latest EU country to act.
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Cyprus plans to enforce the ban using the EU's new age verification app, integrated into its national "Digital Citizen" application. Platforms that fail to block underage users face sanctions of up to 6% of global annual turnover.
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The country is also making digital citizenship education mandatory in all schools — combining a ban with long-term education.
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For full details, see [Cyprus Bans Social Media for Children Under 15](/en/cyprus-social-media-ban-under-15/).
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## Both Sides of the Debate
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**In favor of bans:**
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- Protects children from addictive algorithms designed to maximize engagement
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- Reduces exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying, and unrealistic comparisons
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- Gives children time to develop emotional resilience before entering social media
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**Against bans:**
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- Difficult to enforce (Australia's 70% circumvention rate)
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- Removes platforms young people use for support communities, creativity, and civic engagement
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- Age verification creates new privacy risks
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- May push teens to unregulated or underground platforms
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Amnesty International has called social media bans an "ineffective quick-fix," while UNICEF warns that age-based restrictions alone will not keep children safe.
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## What This Means for Families
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- **In Greece**: From January 2027, platforms will be legally required to prevent under-15s from accessing social media. Parents will not need to rely solely on parental controls.
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- **Across Europe**: Greece's decision adds momentum to the EU-wide push. More countries are likely to follow.
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- **Everywhere**: Regardless of local laws, families can discuss healthy screen time habits and the difference between messaging friends and endlessly scrolling feeds.
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## What Happens Next
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Greece will draft the detailed legislation in the coming months, with the ban scheduled to take effect on **January 1, 2027**. The key open questions are how age verification will work in practice and what penalties platforms will face for non-compliance.
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---
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*For a broader look at child protection laws worldwide, see our [global overview](/en/child-protection-laws-2026-global-overview/). For background on how social media platforms are designed to be addictive, read our article on [tech companies and the addiction business model](/en/tech-companies-addiction-business-model/).*
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