In Greece, a far-reaching step is imminent: According to current reports, the government in Athens wants to announce a social media ban for children under the age of 15 in the coming days. As of today, April 2, 2026, this ban has not yet been officially decided or published in detail, but several recent reports say that the announcement is imminent. 

Greece is thus moving in a direction that is gaining more and more supporters internationally. The background is the growing concern about screen addiction, cyberbullying, disinformation, blackmail of minors and the psychological consequences of excessive social media use. In Greece, the situation has worsened significantly, according to information from the Greek Safer Internet Centre: The number of calls for help due to cyberbullying and other digital attacks has more than doubled between 2024 and 2025. In addition, according to data there, around 75 percent of Greek children who use social
networks are still of primary school age. 

Politically, the topic does not come out of nowhere. At the end of December 2024, the Greek government had already presented a national strategy to protect minors from internet addiction and excessive social media use. In the meantime, cell phones in schools have been restricted, and the government has launched additional parental control tools. The planned ban would therefore not be an isolated rush shot, but the next escalation stage of an already ongoing digital policy to protect minors. 

The broad approval among the population is striking. According to a survey published in February, around 80 percent of respondents were in favor of such a ban. This is politically relevant, because interventions in the digital use of young people are usually sensitive. In Greece, however, the social pressure now seems to be great enough that the government no longer wants to solve the issue only pedagogically, but regulatorily. 

However, it is still unclear how exactly the Greek ban is to be implemented technically and legally. Reuters explicitly reports that the government has not yet given any details on when and how the measure will take effect in practice. This is precisely where the crux of the matter lies: it is easy to announce a law, but it is much more difficult to enforce it in a resilient manner. Experience has shown that young people in particular quickly circumvent age limits via second devices, third-party accounts, VPNs or false age information. In Greece, too, there are therefore voices that say: The problem is real, but a total ban could be full of holes in practice. 

Nevertheless, it is clear that Greece is not alone in this course. The country joins an international wave of states that are drastically restricting or have already restricted minors' access to social networks. So the debate is no longer just moral or pedagogical – it has become regulatory. 

Australia has gone the furthest so far. There, a nationwide ban on children under the age of 16 came into force on December 10, 2025. Ten major platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, have been obliged to exclude minors. Violations can result in fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars. Australia is thus the first country in the world to have implemented such a ban across the board. In the meantime, the authorities are already checking whether platforms are sufficiently implementing the law. 

Indonesia has also put its money where its mouth is. Since the end of March 2026, new rules have been implemented there that are intended to deny children under 16 access to platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X and Roblox. According to AP, the measure affects around 70 million children. The government justifies this with pornography, cyberbullying, fraud and digital addiction. 

In Denmark, the government has already announced that it will ban social media for children under 15. However, parents should be able to allow exceptions for children aged 13 and over in certain cases. A parliamentary majority for the course has already been signalled. 

In Austria, a ban on children under 14 was announced at the end of March 2026. The concrete text of the law is to be available by the end of June. Here, too, the government argues with addiction mechanisms, sexualized content and the protection of minors from algorithmically amplified risks. 

France is also working on stricter rules. In January 2026, the National Assembly approved a law to prohibit children under 15 from accessing social media. At the end of March, the Senate also dealt with it. President Emmanuel Macron wants to make the law effective before the start of the next school year, if possible. As of now, it is still in the parliamentary process in France, but politically it is clearly wanted. 

In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced at the beginning of February that he wanted to ban access to social media for under-16s. In addition, platforms are to be obliged to verify their age. Whether and in what form the project will pass parliament, however, was still open. 

In the United Kingdom, there is no nationwide ban yet, but the government is already testing social media bans, blackout times and usage limits in hundreds of households. At the same time, there is open talk of testing a model based on the Australian model before the end of this year. This is not yet a ready-made prohibition rule – but politically it is clearly the precursor to it. 

In addition, there are other countries with restrictive or planned rules: Malaysia has announced a ban on under-16s from 2026, Poland is preparing a ban on under-15s, according to Reuters, Slovenia is working on a similar law, Portugal has decided to make parental consent compulsory for 13 to 16-year-olds, and Norway is working on raising the age limit and making it an absolute minimum age of 15. Although China has not decided on a classic total ban on social media, it is already using a state-regulated "minor mode" with age-dependent time and 

usage restrictions at the device and app level. 

The pressure is also growing at the EU level. The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution in November 2025 calling for minimum ages for social media. Among other things, MEPs called for an EU-wide ban on access to online platforms for under-16s without parental consent and a complete ban on under-13s.
 
Legally, this is not yet a law, but politically it is a clear signal. 

The Greek initiative is explosive because it no longer talks only about "media literacy" or "more education" as it used to. Athens is now clearly moving in the direction of state access restrictions. So the state is saying: Certain digital spaces are no longer easily accessible to children. This is a real paradigm shift. 

Whether that will work in the end is another question. Proponents argue that children need to be protected from business models based on maximum attention, emotional attachment and algorithmic reinforcement. The critics, on the other hand, argue that bans can be technically circumvented, affect civil liberties and ultimately education cannot be replaced by apps or the state. It is precisely on this front line that the further debate in Greece will be decided. 

As things stand, the alleged "Greek social media ban" is no longer a rumour, but it is also not yet a completed law. What has been reliable so far: Greece is about to announce a ban on children under 15, the political line is clear, social approval is high, and the country is following an international trend that stretches from Australia to Indonesia to France, Spain, Denmark and Austria. 

The real battle begins after that: in the technical implementation, age verification, the control of platforms and the question of whether a state can effectively protect children without creating a new surveillance problem at the same time. This is exactly where symbolic politics separates from real regulation.

Author: MFRadio.de - Redaktion
Source. Reuters / Google / Euro News

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