Greece just passed a social media ban for kids under 15. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, platforms there must check ages and keep younger children off, or face heavy penalties. Meanwhile, here at home, a federal appeals court has cleared Florida and Georgia to enforce their own limits on teen accounts.
So the question is no longer whether governments will act. It is who ends up holding the keys to a child’s phone. Our answer is simple: parents should. Big Tech has had its chance, and the state should not take the parent’s place.
Key Takeaways
- Greece’s parliament passed a ban on social media for children under 15, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
- Only Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s conservative New Democracy party voted for it. The socialist PASOK party abstained, and the other parties voted no.
- Australia started the trend last year with a ban for under-16s, and more than 20 countries have passed similar laws, according to an AFP tally.
- In the U.S., the 11th Circuit cleared Florida and Georgia this month to begin enforcing their laws on minors’ social media accounts while the court fights continue.
- The best model protects kids, keeps parents in charge, and asks adults for as little personal data as possible.
What Greece’s Social Media Ban for Kids Does
The bill cleared parliament after a heated session that ran from Thursday into Friday, AFP reported. Mitsotakis first announced the plan in April. Notably, he made the case on TikTok, one of the apps most popular with Greek teens.
Under the law, platforms have until the new year to sort out which accounts belong to adults. After that, they must verify ages and block users under 15. According to DW, Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou compared the limit to age rules on alcohol and tobacco. “We owe our children their childhood,” he said.
Greece also offers an app called Kids Wallet to handle the age check. Papastergiou insisted it reveals only whether a user is over or under 15, not even a date of birth. That detail matters, and we will come back to it.
America’s Version Is Already Here
Americans may assume a social media ban for kids is a European story. It is not. On Oct. 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit lifted an injunction against Georgia’s SB 351, CBS News Atlanta reported. The same panel also cleared Florida’s HB 3.
The two laws differ in an important way. Georgia requires parental consent for anyone under 16 to hold an account. It also limits targeted ads and data collection for those kids. Florida goes further. It bars children under 14 from opening or keeping accounts, even if a parent says yes, and requires consent for 14- and 15-year-olds, the Electronic Frontier Foundation explains.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr called the ruling “a major win for Georgia families”. Still, the fight is not over. Both cases continue in the lower courts and could be appealed again.
Why a Social Media Ban for Kids Has Support
Here is the plain truth. Parents did not lose this fight because they stopped caring. Instead, they were outgunned. Some of the richest companies on earth built apps designed to keep users scrolling, and children are the easiest users to hook.
Greek lawmakers made that same argument for their social media ban for kids. Uncontrolled use, they said, pulls children into addiction at the expense of their mental health. Supporters also point to lost sleep, shorter attention spans, and less time outdoors with friends.
We have seen how these companies behave when nobody checks them. A New Mexico judge recently ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica deception. Yet its business still runs on engagement. In addition, schools are still digging out of pandemic learning loss. Kids who cannot put the phone down do not make that climb any easier.
So conservatives should not hide behind a free-market slogan here. After all, a market works when buyers make informed choices. A 12-year-old facing a billion-dollar algorithm is not making an informed choice.
Where a Social Media Ban for Kids Goes Wrong
That said, the goal should be to back parents, not replace them. Georgia’s approach does that. A mom or dad decides, and the platform has to respect that decision. Florida’s under-14 rule is different. It tells parents that the state has already decided for them.
Critics on the left and the right share another worry, and it is a fair one. To find out who is under 15 or 16, platforms have to check everyone. The EFF warns that adults will face more demands to prove their age, likely by handing over an ID or other sensitive data. As a result, a law meant to protect children could build a giant new database on everyone else.
That is why Greece’s Kids Wallet detail matters. An age check should answer one question, over or under, and nothing more. If a state cannot promise that, it should not ask for the data.
A Better Path for American Families
First, keep any social media ban for kids at the state level. Florida and Georgia are running the experiment right now, and other states can learn from what works. A one-size-fits-all mandate from Washington is the wrong tool.
Second, make parental consent the rule. Parents know their kids. The law should give them real tools, like account approval, time limits, and a clear off switch, and then let them use those tools.
Third, demand privacy by design. Any age check should confirm age without storing a copy of a driver’s license. Finally, hold the platforms responsible. The companies that profit from a child’s attention should carry the cost of keeping that child safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the United States have a national social media ban for kids?
No. There is no federal ban. Instead, states set their own rules, and Florida and Georgia can now enforce theirs while legal challenges continue.
When does Greece’s ban take effect?
It takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027. From then on, platforms must verify ages and keep children under 15 off their services.
Can parents in Florida let a child under 14 use social media?
No. Florida’s HB 3 bars accounts for children under 14 even with parental permission. Teens who are 14 or 15 need a parent’s consent.
So here is our question for you: should the government set the age limit, or should parents make that call?
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