Greece to ban social media use for children under 15 in a major policy shift

Greece to ban social media access for under 15 year old starting from 1 January 2027. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the update officially, siting rising anxiety, sleep problems and the addictive design of social media platforms, reported Reuters.

Greece announces social media ban for kids

"We have decided to go ahead with a difficult but necessary measure: ban access to social media for children under 15 years old," Mitsotakis said in a video shared on TikTok.

"Greece is among the first countries in the world to adopt such a measure," the prime minister added. He also said that the movie would push the European Union to take similar action.

"I know that some of your are going to be angry.... Our aim is not to keep you away from technology but to combat addiction to certain applications that harms your innocence and your freedom."

"Science is clear: when a child is in front of screens for hours, their brain does not rest," he further said, as quoted by AFP. More details are awaited.

Countries like Slovenia, Britain, Austria and Spain are also said to be working towards similar bans after Australia.

When Australia announced social media ban for kids

Australia became the first country in the world to block social media access to children under the age of 16. In Australia, the social media restriction for teens began in December 2025.

Other countries who banned social media for kids

Apart from Australia, Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid had announced a ban on social media for children under 16 years old in the country.

In March 2026, Hafid, in a statement to the media stated that she signed a government regulation which restricts children under the age of 16 from having accounts on high-risk digital platforms, such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox.

The implementation was said to begin gradually from March 28. “The basis is clear. Our children face increasingly real threats. From exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and most importantly addiction. The government is here so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giant of algorithms.” Hafid said.

“We realize that the implementation of this regulation may cause some discomfort at first. Children may complain and parents may be confused about how to respond to their children’s complaints,” Hafid added.

The decision to block online access was welcomed by several parents in Indonesia amid growing concern that children are being harmed by exposure to unregulated social media content.

Austria's social media ban for under 14

Last month, Austria announced that it would soon ban social media for children up to the age of 14. The new law on the ban is to be presented "as early as this summer".

Earlier, AP reported that countries like France, and the UK were also considering measures to restrict access to social media for minors.

Spain and Denmark have also announced their intention to introduce a similar restriction across digital networks.