Overview
- Greece’s parliament approved the law in a late, multi-day debate that ended on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, with the governing New Democracy party voting for it, PASOK abstaining, and other parties opposed.
- The law forbids people under 15 from holding social media accounts and bars parental consent for sign-ups, and it does not exempt accounts created before January 1, 2027.
- Platforms operating in Greece must implement age-verification systems and, when they cannot confirm age, present a QR code that users scan with the government 'Kids Wallet' app which only reports whether someone is over or under 15.
- Greek regulators — the broadcasting council and the Hellenic Data Protection Authority — will police compliance and the European Commission will oversee the largest platforms under the Digital Services Act, with fines for firms that fail to meet the rules.
- The move follows a growing international trend of age limits on social apps but has drawn warnings about privacy risks from sweeping age checks, practical enforcement limits such as VPNs and anonymity, and legal uncertainty after France’s similar measure was struck down.