Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in an interview with infokids.gr and journalist Eleni Daskalaki, spoke about banning children under the age of 15 from accessing social media.
He emphasised that Greece is one of the first European countries to implement this initiative and added that there is broad acceptance of the measure in society and among parents.
"We are well aware that these behaviours now have an impact on children’s mental health. And we cannot wait any longer; we cannot wait five to ten years and essentially lose an entire generation, which will grow up with significant mental health issues, before we do something about it," said the Prime Minister.
Mitsotakis stressed that, in order for the measure to be fully implemented, Europe’s assistance is also needed, as it must be incorporated into European legislation. He noted that Greece currently has no way to impose sanctions on the platforms because the relevant legislation is European and pertains to the Digital Services Act.
He added that the President of the European Commission, to whom he sent a letter outlining this initiative, is moving in precisely this direction. He also expressed the view that the measure will very soon be enshrined in European legislation.
Mitsotakis said he announced the initiative now in order to kick-start the discussion, as national legislation is required and it takes around six months to examine the European dimension of the issue. He further explained that there must be communication with the platforms, that they must be given time, and that they must be informed that, as of 1 January, they will not be able to offer accounts to children under 15, as this will be prohibited in Greece.
He also noted that the next step is to regulate online gambling.
In closing, the Greek Premier emphasised that Greece is far ahead of other European countries in how it addresses these issues and said that the country’s regulatory approach could serve as a model.