In an ambitious effort to protect children from internet addiction, Greece is planning to launch a national strategy to curb excessive social media use by minors. In a first step toward the goal, Greece launched a dedicated website on Monday that offers user-friendly guides and instructions on parental control features.
Speaking at an event to mark the launch of the strategy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said protecting the well-being of children is a societal imperative.
However, he expressed doubts about the effectiveness of a complete ban on social media. Instead, he said the challenge for the future is how to design apps with children and teens in mind.
According to the Greek government, the new aim is to address growing concerns about excessive use of social media and the internet by children. Its main pillars are parental controls, age verification and strengthening engagement with social media platforms.
Three Phase Implementation Plan
The government plans to implement the strategy in three phases, the first part of which was launched on Monday. Next year, the Greek government plans to launch a digital wallet application that will serve as a parental control and age verification system.
Parental Control Platform: It is an advanced portal that was launched on Monday to give parents tools to monitor and regulate their children’s online activity.
Kids Wallet System: In the next phase, the government is planning to introduce the “Kids Wallet” system within the next three months. According to a report in Greek City Times, the innovative tool will include built-in applications and rules for automatic age authentication to ensure proper online access.
International cooperation: As a next step, Greece will reportedly introduce legislative measures in collaboration with European partners and major tech companies to regulate online content and increase protection for minors.
age of digital adulthood
On 18 December, while chairing a high-level inter-ministerial meeting on the issue, Prime Minister Mitsotakis reportedly stressed the need to define an age for “digital adulthood”, tentatively set at 15 years. Will be determined.
Greece’s Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou also highlighted the urgent need to address internet addiction among youth, saying, “Our children are growing up in a fake world.
“As a government, we must stand with parents. The real issue here is Internet addiction, and we must deal with it with decisive action,” he said, according to the Greek City Times.
With this initiative, Greece joins the long list of countries including the US, France, UK and Australia that are bringing in measures to develop youth with healthy relationships with technology.
