Greece is helping parents with age gating, monitoring kids’ screen time with a government app

Zoe Kent edits a social media video on the TikTok app, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at her farm in Bucyrus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) (Joshua A. Bickel/AP)

ATHENS, Greece — In a country celebrated for its ancient wisdom, Greece is offering a modern solution to a pressing household challenge: empowering parents to oversee their children’s online activity.

On Monday, the government launched a state-operated mobile app, marking one of Europe’s most assertive steps toward digital age verification.

Kids Wallet, now available on iOS and Android, gives parents tools to verify their children’s ages on digital platforms and monitor their browsing activity, officials said.

“This is an application that Greece — and Europe — needs to confirm children’s ages when they use social media,” said Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou. “It will also serve as an identification tool for upcoming initiatives.”

Unlike stricter approaches adopted in some European countries, Greece has made the app’s use voluntary, though officials argue it offers more powerful controls. The initiative aligns with broader EU-wide efforts to standardize age verification across member states.

The app is integrated with Greece’s government services platform, already widely used to pay taxes, navigate bureaucracy, and even buy soccer tickets, and works with existing digital ID systems for adults.

Parents will log in using their online tax identification credentials.

The general age of digital consent has been set at 15, and officials have invited major digital platforms to collaborate on the rollout.

“Dear platforms, we ask for your cooperation so that together we can protect children at a vulnerable age,” Papastergiou said.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis voiced support for the initiative, expressing concern over technology’s impact on family life. “You see families in restaurants where parents and children are all on their phones, and you wonder when they actually talk to each other,” he said.

A 2024 survey by Greek research organization KMOP found that 76.6 per cent of children aged 9–12 have internet access via personal devices, 58.6 per cent use social media daily, and 22.8 per cent have encountered inappropriate content.

The app’s launch is part of a broader set of government measures aimed at curbing youth violence and aligns with EU plans to strengthen online protections for minors.

Derek Gatopoulos, The Associated Press