Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking at the “Protecting Children in the Digital Age” event hosted by Australia during the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, announced that Greece is seriously considering banning social media use for minors under the age of 16.
Accompanied by his wife, Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotaki, the Prime Minister expressed deep concern over the growing addiction of young people to online platforms. “We are conducting the greatest uncontrolled experiment ever on the minds of our children. We do not know the consequences, but we are almost certain they will not be positive,” he warned.
Mitsotakis stressed that Greece has already taken major steps, starting with the ban on mobile phone use in schools, which he described as “transformational” for the classroom environment. He also highlighted the parco.gov.gr digital platform, linked to the national registry, which provides parents with age-verification tools and parental control options for social media.
He dismissed the argument often made by tech companies that age verification is unfeasible, noting: “These companies know far more about us than we imagine—and of course they know the age of their users.”
Acknowledging the difficulties of implementation, Mitsotakis insisted that challenges cannot be used as an excuse for inaction. He confirmed that his government is examining the introduction of a “digital age of majority” at 16, following Australia’s lead, and that Greece is prepared to work with international partners to make this happen.
With his intervention, Kyriakos Mitsotakis signaled that Greece intends to play a leading role in shaping global policy to protect children in the digital era.
