Greece to ban social media for under-15s from next year
Greece says it will ban under-15s from using social media from January 2027 as it becomes the latest country to rein in how much time children spend online.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the move will deal with what many parents are already seeing – kids not sleeping properly, feeling anxious, and spending hours on their phones.
He also referenced how social media platforms are designed, saying they’re built to keep people hooked.
In a TikTok video, he said young people often feel worn out by the pressure to always be “on” and to react to and make sense of endless comments and direct messages.
He called the decision “difficult but necessary”, stressing the aim isn’t to cut children off from tech completely.
Mitsotakis noted that there’s still value in it for “inspiration, knowledge and creativity,” but younger teens must be protected.
Australia has already introduced such a ban on under-16s, with TikTok and YouTube told to remove those accounts or face fines.
France, Spain and Austria are also looking at restrictions, while the UK is in the consultation stage.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, tech companies aren’t convinced.
They say blanket bans won’t work in practice and could push some teenagers into more isolated spaces online. Reddit is already challenging the Australian law.
Details on how Greece will actually enforce the ban are still to come.
However, it’s yet another sign that governments are more serious about stepping in amid increasing evidence that overuse of social media is bad for mental health.