The ban of access to social media for children under 15 years old with effect from 1 January 2027 was announced by the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the relevant legislative regulation is expected to come for vote by Parliament in the summer.
In a separate letter of his to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis asked for coordinated action from the European Union, supporting that national measures on their own would not be sufficient for the protection of minors from addiction to the internet.
In the letter, he proposed the establishment of a “digital adulthood” at EU level at 15 years, the mandatory verification of age and the regular re-examination for all platforms, as well as the creation of a harmonized framework of enforcement and sanctions.
Other countries that are going to take similar measures are France, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Poland.
The ban concerns the platforms Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat and not the messaging platforms.
These platforms, thus, will have to introduce mandatory age verification which will be done through Gov.gr and KidsWallet.
The data show that 1 in 4 teenagers felt discomfort when personal information of them was shared online without consent, 17% of children 11-15 years old were victims of cyberbullying in the period 2021-2022, 23% of 15-year-olds state that they feel nervous or insecure without access to their mobile phone and 20% of 15-year-olds neglect other important activities due to social media.
Sources: Καθημερινή, Reuters
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