Greek officials met representatives from Meta Platforms, TikTok and Microsoft on 12 November 2026 in Athens to discuss how the platforms will implement age‑verification mechanisms for a new ban that will take effect on 1 January 2027. The meetings were chaired by Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence Minister Dimitris Papastergiou and State Minister Akis Skertsos.
The law, approved by Parliament on 23 October, will prohibit all Greek users born after 1 January 2013 – effectively children under 15 – from using any social‑media platform. The ban carries no parental exemptions and will apply to children who already hold accounts.
According to a government statement, the goal of the meeting is "for platforms to design and present reliable age‑verification mechanisms that they will put into effect from January 1," and platforms have been invited to submit a specific plan by the beginning of December.
A later session with Google officials was scheduled for Friday, a detail noted by Kathimerini. The government said that any breach of the law will hold the platforms accountable, not the children or their parents.
Officials cited recent research in their justification. The data, quoted by Kathimerini, reported that more than one in two students in the first three classes of high school began using social media between the ages of ten and twelve. It also found that one in four of those students considered their use excessive, and one in five felt edgy, insecure or distracted when denied access to a mobile phone.
While the ministerial statement emphasizes the necessity of reliable age verification, no specific technical solution has yet been agreed upon. Platforms are expected to present concrete proposals by December, but the details of those mechanisms remain undisclosed.
The law’s reach to children born after 2012 and the absence of parental approval raises questions about practical enforcement. How the platforms will monitor and prevent circumvention of the ban, and how the government will handle potential disputes, have not been detailed by any of the parties involved.
In addition, the schedule for the platforms’ plans has a tight deadline, with delivery due within weeks of the meetings. It is still uncertain whether all three companies – Meta, TikTok and Microsoft – will be able to develop and deploy compliant verification systems in time for the January rollout.
Furthermore, the legal language prohibits any exceptions for children who already own accounts. Whether this will create legal challenges or necessitate additional oversight mechanisms has not been explored in the public statements released so far.
Ultimately, the Greek government aims to enforce a stringent social‑media ban for children under fifteen, but the exact mechanisms and enforcement methods that will emerge from these talks are still to be determined.
