Greece’s parliament voted an under-15 limit on social networking services.

What changed

On October 22, 2026, the plenary of the Hellenic Parliament voted a bill titled “Prohibition of the use of online social networking services by minors.” The official extract of that sitting is the source for the rules below. This note does not cite a Government Gazette issue. In Greece, publication in the gazette is a later step. The voted text itself says it takes effect on January 1, 2027, with one exception noted below.

The voted articles say:

• Access to online social networking services provided by online platforms is prohibited for minors who have not reached the age of 15.
• For this rule, January 1 counts as the birthday of everyone born in the same calendar year. A child born on any day in 2012 is treated as born on January 1, 2012. A child born on any day in 2013 is treated as born on January 1, 2013.
• Age may be checked with the age-verification function of the digital document wallet in law 4954/2022, or with the KidsWallet function named in that law. The article says those functions may be used. It does not say a parent must install an app.
• Supervision of the new rule sits with two authorities already named in law 5099/2024: the National Council for Radio and Television, and the Hellenic Data Protection Authority.
• If a European Union regulation covers the same issue, the voted text says this law ceases to apply on its own.

The bill’s impact analysis, in the parliament file for the draft, adds limits that are easy to miss. It says the shared January 1 birthday is meant to avoid treating minors in the same age group and school class differently. It says the rule does not impose one age-check method. Providers may use any system that meets requirements of effectiveness, reliability, proportionality, data minimization, and privacy, which the analysis ties to article 28 of the Digital Services Act and to the European Commission’s related guidelines. It names Kids Wallet and Gov.gr Wallet as examples that fit the Greek system. It does not require those apps, and it does not rule out other equivalent solutions if they are compatible with the relevant European technical specifications, the European age-verification framework, and the European Digital Identity Wallet. It also says the bill does not create a new administrative fine. Enforcement stays inside the supervision system that law and the Digital Services Act already use.

The voted articles do not list services. They do not say whether a game, a messaging app, or a video service is included. They do not set a penalty for a child or a parent.

What you can do

Nothing in this bill changes a setting on your child’s phone today. The voted text does not take effect before January 1, 2027. Limits you set yourself still apply whether or not a platform later adds an age check.

• Do not wait for an app to change. The voted text does not take effect before January 1, 2027, and it does not name the services. A schedule you set yourself still decides when apps are available. Start with Apple’s time controls.
• If a service later asks for an age check, read what it is asking. The voted article allows the Greek wallet functions. The impact analysis says they are examples, not the only method. Neither source tells you to install a wallet now.
• Agree on the rule at home anyway. A law cannot say what your family does when someone asks for more time. A short family agreement can.

Sources

• Extract from the plenary minutes of October 22, 2026Hellenic Parliament. The voted text: the age limit, the January 1 birthday rule, KidsWallet, the two supervising authorities, the January 1, 2027 start, and the clause if an EU regulation covers the same issue.
• Bill and regulatory impact analysisHellenic Parliament file for the draft, dated October 9, 2026. Why children in the same school class share a birthday for this rule, that no single age-check method is required, and that the bill does not create a new administrative fine.