Greece bans social media for under-15s from January 2027: could Pakistan follow?

Greece’s parliament on Friday passed a law that bars children under 15 from social media, joining a small group of countries trying to keep young teenagers off apps like Instagram and TikTok. The ban takes effect on January 1, 2027, Reuters reported, as carried by Asharq Al-Awsat and Aaj News.

What does the Greek law do?

The law stops under-15s from using social media platforms. It does not ban children from the internet as a whole. The government says it is backing parents against endless scrolling, which it argues costs children sleep, concentration and time with their friends.

The hard part is checking ages. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has given the platforms about two and a half months to come up with a way to verify a user’s age while protecting their privacy. Greece is one of seven EU countries working with the European Commission on a shared age-check system. Reports describe a digital token that confirms someone is old enough without revealing who they are.

Who else has done this?

Australia was the first country to pass a law restricting social media for minors, last year. France tried something similar, but its Constitutional Council struck the law down in August. Greece will now be watched closely as a test of whether a European ban can survive in practice.

Where does Pakistan stand?

Pakistan has talked about the same idea but has not passed anything. In July 2025, Senators Sarmad Ali and Masroor Ahsan introduced the Social Media (Age Restriction for Users) Bill 2025, which would have banned under-16s from opening accounts, fined platforms between Rs50,000 and Rs5 million, and given the PTA the job of enforcing it, The Express Tribune and Aaj News reported.

The bill was later withdrawn after objections that its age limit and penalties were too rigid, and a promised softer version never came back, according to a later Express Tribune analysis. Some senators raised the issue again in January 2026, this time talking about under-18s, and the government proposed forming a committee. The Punjab Assembly has also moved a resolution asking for federal action, but internet regulation is a federal matter, so it is only a recommendation.

Why it matters to parents here

Pakistani parents face the same worries Greek ones do, and the same practical problem: there is no reliable way to check a child’s age online. If Europe settles on a privacy-friendly age-check system that works, it will give lawmakers here a ready model. If platforms struggle to comply by January, that will be a warning too.

The next date to watch is January 1, when Greece’s ban is due to start.