Greece announces social media ban for under-15s, citing anxiety and sleep problems

Greece has announced a social media ban for under-15s from 1 January, with the country’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, citing rising anxiety, sleep problems and the addictive design of online platforms – although he acknowledged it may incur the wrath of some children.“We have decided to go ahead with a difficult but necessary measure: ban access to social media for children under 15 years old,” he said in a TikTok video intended to address a young audience.“Our intention is not to remove you from technology, which can be a source of inspiration, of knowledge, of creativity … [But] science is clear: When a child spends hours in front of a screen its mind gets no rest.”The 300-seat parliament, which is controlled by Mitsotakis’s centre-right New Democracy party, is expected to vote in the ban this summer. Greece will be among the first countries in Europe to adopt such legislation. Last year, the government outlawed mobile phones in schools and set up parental control platforms to help protect children from excessive screen time.Mitsotakis said he had conferred with parents after a litany of complaints about cyber-bulling and children becoming increasingly addicted to apps.In January, France began passing similar legislation, the second country to take such a step after Australia announced it was blocking more than 4.7m social media accounts for under-16s in December. Spain, Malaysia, Denmark and Poland either considering a ban or in the process of legislating one.In February, a survey released by the Greek polling company ALCO showed overwhelming endorsement for the crackdown.Majorities of up to 79% across half a dozen European countries also support banning under-16s from social media, a YouGov poll has revealed – even if people differ significantly in their view of how effective such moves can be.The survey of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK showed approval for restrictions was highest in France, where the government hopes a ban on social media for under-15s will be law by the start of the 2026-27 school year.In the UK, where a government consultation has been launched, 76% said they favoured a ban, while 74% backed the idea in Germany, 70% in Italy (where a cross-party initiative is under way) and 68% in Spain, where similar plans are afoot.Support was notably lower in Poland, although still a majority at 53%. In all countries, parents of children aged under 18 were among the most enthusiastic supporters of a social media ban for under-16s, and, in most, women were more likely to back it than men.YouGov also found support for banning children from social media crossed party divides, with majorities backing the idea in all major parties except Poland’s Law & Justice (PiS) – although support tended to be somewhat lower among far-right voters.Despite the high support, however, there was substantial scepticism about how well it would work. In the UK, 54% said they thought a ban would be “not very” or “not at all” effective – including 46% of those who would support it.In Poland, France and Germany, respondents were more or less evenly divided on whether they thought a social media ban would work or not, while majorities in Spain (53%) and particularly Italy (61%) said they thought it would prove effective.In Greece teachers have frequently complained of young children being so sleep-deprived in class that they are almost lifeless. Dimitris Panayiotopoulos, who retired last year as a primary school headteacher, told the Guardian: “After 40 years of teaching I can honestly say that screens have destroyed children.”Mitsotakis, who also invoked the dangers posed to health and mental wellbeing by overexposure to social media, said Athens would lead the charge in urging the EU to standardise online age verification tools by 2027.Government officials said the measure would restrict access to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat for those born after 2012. “National action alone will not suffice,” the Greek prime minister wrote in a letter released by his office to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.“A unified European framework must be in place by the end of 2026 in order to complement and strengthen necessary national initiatives for the protection of minors.”