Greece has entered one of Europe’s fiercest debates about childhood and the internet. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says the country will ban social media access for children under 15 from January 1, 2027. Under the plan, platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat would have to verify users’ ages and block younger children, while violations could trigger major penalties under the EU’s Digital Services Act framework. Athens is not treating this as a purely national issue, either: Mitsotakis has also urged the European Union to create a common age-verification system and a shared digital age threshold across the bloc. (reutersconnect.com)

The political logic is easy to understand. Governments across Europe are reacting to mounting anxiety about what constant connectivity is doing to children’s minds, sleep, and social lives. OECD data show that 98% of 15-year-olds in OECD countries have a smartphone, 17% report feeling nervous or anxious without their digital devices, and cyberbullying is rising. The organisation also warns that long hours online can crowd out exercise, reading, and face-to-face friendships. At the same time, the evidence is not simple enough to support a moral panic: the OECD notes that social media’s overall effect on mental health is usually measured as small but significant, and that harms vary greatly from one child to another. (oecd.org)

So, can a ban actually protect young people? Possibly, but only partly. Greece’s proposal arrives just as the European Commission says its new privacy-preserving age-verification app is ready for deployment, which could make enforcement more realistic than in the past. Yet both UNICEF and the OECD warn that age limits are not a magic fix. Children may still get around them through shared devices, false information, or migration to less regulated platforms. Worse, if governments focus only on banning access, they may let tech companies avoid a harder responsibility: redesigning platforms that reward endless scrolling, emotional dependency, and algorithm-driven exposure to harmful content. In that sense, Greece’s plan may become a useful shield, but not a complete cure. The real test will be whether it is paired with safer platform design, digital literacy, and sustained support for families. (commission.europa.eu)