How the social media ban on minors will be implemented: 10 questions on the new measure

Questions and answers connected the measurement to prohibition the usage of societal media by minors nether the property of 15 person been released by the authorities aft the property league of Health Ministers Adonis Georgiades, Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence Dimitris Papastergiou and State Affairs Akis Skertsos, astatine the Ministry of Digital Governance.

Questions and answers connected the caller measure

1. Why now? Why is involution necessary?

The Greek Prime Minister was the archetypal to item the request to support minors from net addiction astatine the UN General Assembly successful September 2024. Since then, Greece has promoted a bid of measures astatine European and nationalist level done a broad strategy for the extortion of minors from net addiction. KidsWallet was the archetypal operational property verification mechanics adopted by an EU Member State, portion Greece’s connection for a pan-European integer property of bulk has been politically adopted by 13 Member States.

This inaugural is portion of a broader planetary momentum: much and much countries are recognising that the extortion of minors online cannot beryllium based solely connected the idiosyncratic work of families oregon the self-regulation of platforms. Australia, France and Spain are gradually moving towards measures specified arsenic property limits, mandatory property verification and parental consent, portion European authorities is besides moving towards stricter obligations for exertion companies.

The involution is happening present due to the fact that children’s regular lives person mostly moved to the integer situation and the risks are nary longer theoretical but existent and measurable. The purpose is firstly to support minors from effects associated with the usage of societal networks – successful peculiar connected intelligence health, mean psychosocial development, but besides connected their privateness and idiosyncratic data. At the aforesaid time, the authorities is strengthening the relation of parents and guardians, giving them existent tools of supervision and consent truthful that they tin efficaciously support their children successful the integer situation and are not near unsocial successful the look of technologies that are evolving overmuch faster than their power capabilities.

2. Which platforms are acrophobic by the intervention?

The measurement concerns services that run arsenic societal media. That is, immoderate exertion oregon website wherever users make profiles, interact with each different and tin station contented that others spot (e.g. posts, stories, videos, comments, likes, followers).

The definitions fixed by the European Commission successful the Digital Services Act volition beryllium followed. Indicative examples are platforms specified arsenic Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

3. How volition it beryllium implemented?

Legislation of this benignant is not a panacea. It is simply a analyzable method and regulatory contented that requires clip to instrumentality and collaboration with the platforms themselves. In each countries wherever akin measures are being introduced, implementation is gradual and does not mean that the adjacent time minors’ accounts volition beryllium automatically “closed” – reliable property verification systems request to beryllium enactment successful spot first.

In France, an property bounds (15 years) has been introduced for creating an relationship without parental consent and the work for platforms to verify property done autarkic providers is moving forward, truthful that idiosyncratic information is besides protected. Full implementation is inactive successful advancement and volition beryllium phased successful by the extremity of 2026.

Experience shows that the measures bash not enactment arsenic a “switch” that straight solves the problem; but they bash enactment arsenic a almighty extortion instrumentality that reduces minors’ vulnerability and forces platforms to instrumentality work for the situation they create.

Children nether the property of 15 volition not beryllium capable to usage societal networking services.

– In practice, the main work for implementation lies with the platforms themselves, which are required to instal reliable property verification mechanisms and artifact entree to minors beneath the threshold.

– The authorities does not straight power users, but supervises whether platforms comply: the EETT arsenic the Digital Services Coordinator, unneurotic with the ESR and the Data Protection Authority, show implementation and initiate procedures successful lawsuit of violations – complaints astir imaginable violations.

– The lawsuit is forwarded to the competent authorization of the CM wherever the level is installed oregon to the European Commission nether the Digital Services Act.

– If a usurpation is detected, sanctions are imposed.

– Applicable from 1/1/2027.

During the implementation of the law, platforms volition request to spell done a “re-verification” property script of each accounts successful Greece, truthful that accounts with a declared property antithetic from the existent property and beneath the acceptable limits volition beryllium excluded from utilizing Social Media.

4. What are the penalties for non-compliance?

Where determination is simply a breach of the legislation, the NCA volition notation the lawsuit to the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State wherever the level is installed or, wherever appropriate, to the European Commission. The competent authorities measure the cases and enforce the due fines and penalties.

Under the Implementation Law for Digital Services, the pursuing are foreseen:

– Fines of up to 6% of planetary turnover

– Daily fines up to compliance

– Operating restrictions

– Parallel GDPR fines if idiosyncratic data

5. What bash experts accidental astir the dangers of integer addiction? To what grade tin it beryllium treated arsenic a hazard to children’s psychosocial improvement equivalent to alcohol, smoking and drugs?

Experts hold that excessive usage of mobile, societal media, and online games is not conscionable a “bad habit” but tin really impact a child’s development. When a kid spends excessively galore hours connected a screen, anxiousness and slump rates increase, slumber decreases, loneliness and societal examination increases, and phenomena specified arsenic cyberbullying oregon isolation from the existent satellite occur.

At the aforesaid time, definite integer activities activate the aforesaid “reward circuits” successful the encephalon arsenic addictive substances and tin pb to nonaccomplishment of control, aggravated cravings and withdrawal symptoms. For this reason, scientists are not saying that the net is the aforesaid arsenic drugs, but that astatine definite ages it tin enactment successful a akin way: it affects self-regulation, replaces basal activities (sleep, exercise, interaction with friends) and interferes astatine a clip erstwhile the encephalon is inactive maturing. Thus, integer addiction is present considered a nationalist wellness issue, equivalent successful developmental hazard to intoxicant oregon smoking: not due to the fact that the substance is the same, but due to the fact that the interaction connected children’s behaviour, learning and intelligence wellness tin beryllium conscionable arsenic profound and long-lasting.

A caller survey from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which analyzed much than 10,000 adolescents, recovered that owning a smartphone by property 12 is associated with accrued risks of depression, portion getting 1 earlier intensifies these problems on with inadequate slumber and obesity.

Recent OECD probe has shown that:

– 1 successful 4 teenagers felt uncomfortable erstwhile idiosyncratic accusation was shared online without consent.

– 17% of 11-15 twelvemonth olds were victims of cyberbullying successful 2021-2022.

– 23% of 15-year-olds accidental they consciousness tense oregon unsafe without entree to their mobile phone.

– 20% of 15-year-olds neglect different important activities (sports, hobbies, etc.) due to the fact that of societal media.

6. What volition hap – and what won’t hap – aft 1 January 2027;

Access to societal media volition not beryllium abruptly chopped off. The regulatory model for the large platforms is European: the rules, compliance procedures and penalties are acceptable astatine European Union level and applied centrally. The competent Greek authorities bash not “shut down” platforms; they place infringements, record complaints and activate the European power mechanism, which undertakes the appraisal and enforcement of measures.

This is wherefore the relation of parents is crucial. Setting up KidsWallet and checking that the kid does not bypass the extortion mechanics is simply a cardinal portion of implementing the measurement – conscionable arsenic important arsenic the obligations and penalties faced by the large tech companies.

Regulation does not enactment arsenic a “digital police” that replaces the family; it acts arsenic a instrumentality that reinforces their responsibility. Parents are urged to instal KidsWallet, to corroborate that the kid is not bypassing the safeguards and, astir importantly, to sermon with the kid the limits and due usage of technology. As with intoxicant oregon driving, the instrumentality sets the framework, but day-to-day implementation depends connected parental supervision and guidance. Without the practice of the family, nary integer mounting tin beryllium genuinely effective.

7. What has the EU done truthful far?

The archetypal cardinal milestone is the adoption and motorboat of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA introduces astatine the EU level, an explicit work for platforms accessible to minors to instrumentality appropriate, proportionate, and effectual measures to guarantee a precocious level of privacy, security, and protection. At the aforesaid time, it provides that wherever a level knows oregon tin reasonably beryllium expected to cognize that a idiosyncratic is simply a minor, targeted advertizing based connected profiling is prohibited, and that the extortion measures should not pb to the postulation of further idiosyncratic information solely for property determination purposes.

In addition, it establishes an enhanced authorities of obligations for precise ample online platforms (VLOPs) and hunt engines (VLOSEs). These platforms are required to identify, analyse and measure systemic risks and instrumentality tenable and proportionate measures to mitigate them.

The adjacent milestone came successful July 2025, erstwhile the European Commission formally presented guidance connected “age verification/age assurance” systems. The Commission adopted an attack that combines privateness with interoperability, launching a aviator instrumentality involving six Member States. This instrumentality acts arsenic a span solution until the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) is afloat implemented, which is expected to beryllium operational by the extremity of 2026.

At the governmental level, the inaugural of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with the constitution of a peculiar committee of experts connected societal media, plays a cardinal role. Finally, the European Parliament, with a solution successful November 2025, is stepping up the governmental unit for a much unified European approach. The solution explicitly calls for parental oregon guardian consent for users nether 16 and stronger property verification mechanisms.

8. Why can’t the prohibition travel into unit tomorrow?

Unlike countries extracurricular the European Union, specified arsenic Australia, Greece operates wrong a commonly agreed European regulatory framework, which sets retired circumstantial rules and procedures. Although a subordinate authorities whitethorn enact authorities restricting minors’ entree to societal media beneath a definite property limit, the implementation, supervision and enforcement of these rules is not solely a nationalist responsibility.

In practice, the large platforms are supervised astatine European level, and immoderate nationalist regularisation is assessed for its compatibility with EU law. This means that clip is needed to see whether the projected measurement tin beryllium implemented without creating ineligible oregon operational conflicts with the European framework. At the aforesaid time, these are interventions of a highly method nature, which trigger circumstantial power procedures astatine the European Commission level. Indicatively, a play of introspection of astir 3 months from the notification of the measurement is foreseen, during which its method and ineligible parameters volition beryllium assessed earlier its implementation.

9. What are the interventions suggested by the Greek Prime Minister successful the missive to the President of the European Commission regarding European legislation?

Recognizing that the European regulatory grid is not capable to support minors from online addiction, the Greek Prime Minister has besides written an unfastened missive to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In this letter, helium calls for the contiguous adoption of measures for the effectual extortion of our children.

In particular:
– The hold of the European aviator property verification programme crossed Europe, beyond the archetypal radical of Member States, to guarantee azygous exertion crossed the Union.

– The mandatory usage of this azygous property verification mechanics by each platforms serving users nether 15 years of age.

– The constitution of a European “digital property of majority” of 15 years, with the instauration of a azygous prohibition connected entree to societal media for users beneath this age.

– An work for platforms to re-verify the property each six months to guarantee continued compliance and forestall circumvention of entree restrictions.

– The instauration of a simplified mechanics to let Member States and the European Commission to jointly measure incidents and velocity up the imposition of sanctions.

10) Timetable

– Three-month European consultation process (European Commission’s method drafting mechanism) (TRIS) – Q2 2026

– Legislative enactment – 3rd fractional of 2026

– Intensive nationalist diplomatic effort astatine EU level – 2nd to 4th 4th 2026

– Aim to found an effectual European sanctioning mechanism

– Compliance play for companies – Q3 to Q4 2026

– Adaptation of platforms and method systems to the caller obligations.

– Start of prohibition implementation – Q1 2027