Overview
- Greece, which announced the plan Wednesday, will bar children under 15 from social media starting January 1, 2027, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis citing anxiety, sleep problems and apps’ addictive design.
- Greek officials say platforms must verify user ages and could face fines under the EU Digital Services Act, while a state-backed Kids Wallet app would let parents block access on a child’s device and the government is urging an EU-wide framework with regular re-verification.
- The Massachusetts House scheduled a Wednesday vote on a bill that would ban social media accounts for under‑14s, require verifiable parental consent for ages 14–15, mandate age checks, and give parents access to minors’ platform data, with an Oct. 1, 2026 effective date if enacted.
- The Massachusetts plan also targets phones in schools by requiring districts to prohibit student use during the day and by piloting technology in 10 districts that would make personal devices inoperable on school grounds.
- These steps add to a rapid international push that includes Australia’s under‑16 platform ban in December 2025 and Indonesia’s enforcement since March, even as regulators flag easy workarounds like VPNs and U.S. laws face court challenges such as Florida’s disputed under‑14 ban.