Greece Welcomes Australia’s Social Media Ban for Children

Greece has welcomed Australia’s pioneering initiative to restrict social media access for children under 16, as new data reveal that nearly five million underage accounts lost access within the first month of the policy’s implementation.

During the first half of December alone, social media companies removed access to approximately 4.7 million Australian accounts identified as belonging to users under 16. The world-first initiative targets platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Snapchat and requires companies to take reasonable measures to prevent minors from creating accounts.

Authorities stress that the law does not impose a ban but introduces a delay, designed to protect young people’s health and wellbeing while strengthening their digital literacy and online resilience. Officials argue that social media platforms often expose children to bullying, peer pressure, anxiety, scams, and online predators, making early protection critical.

Australia has framed the policy as part of a broader national strategy that includes education programs led by the eSafety Commissioner, online abuse reporting systems, industry codes and standards, transparency obligations for technology companies, and the promotion of “Safety by Design” principles.

The Greek government has highlighted similar domestic initiatives, including the KidsWallet platform and the introduction of mobile phone-free schools, as part of its own effort to shield minors from harmful online practices. Other European countries, including Denmark and Norway, have also introduced minimum age requirements for social media platforms.

To monitor the policy’s impact, Australia appointed an academic advisory group of eleven leading experts, chaired by Stanford University’s Social Media Lab, to conduct a rigorous and transparent evaluation of the law’s implementation. The review will assess both intended and unintended consequences for young users.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized the urgency of decisive action, stating that governments cannot use implementation difficulties as an excuse to avoid addressing the risks children face online. Officials in both countries stressed that no single measure can solve the problem but agreed that delaying children’s exposure to social media represents a critical step in safeguarding youth wellbeing.