Greece Moves To End Online Anonymity as Part of Social Media Crackdown
Greece is pushing some of Europe’s toughest social media rules, restricting anonymous accounts and banning young users—but raising sharp concerns over privacy in the process.
Greece is pushing some of Europe’s toughest social media rules, restricting anonymous accounts and banning young users—but raising sharp concerns over privacy in the process.
The Greek government is pressing ahead with plans to ban anonymity on social media in a move it says is necessary to tackle rising online toxicity and protect democratic debate.
Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said Athens is exploring ways to require platforms to verify the identity of users, arguing that anonymous accounts enable harassment, disinformation, and character assassination without consequences.
The proposal is being handled at the highest levels of government within the office of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as the country heads towards national elections in 2027.
Papastergiou insisted that users would still be able to express opinions freely, but only if their identity is known. While pseudonyms may remain, each profile would need to correspond to a real person.
The government claims law enforcement has struggled to identify individuals behind illegal online speech, allowing abuse to persist.
However, the plan raises significant legal and technical challenges, and critics warn it could undermine freedom of expression. Digital rights campaigners have long cautioned that limiting anonymity risks discouraging whistleblowers, activists, and ordinary users from speaking openly.
The proposed crackdown on anonymity comes alongside broader efforts by Greece to regulate social media.
The government has announced that access to social media will be banned for under-15s from January 1, 2027, with Mitsotakis describing the measure as “difficult but necessary.”
Citing concerns over addiction, anxiety, and sleep problems, the prime minister said the aim is not to isolate children from technology but to protect their development.
An opinion poll published in February found that around 80% of respondents support the ban.
Greece has already outlawed mobile phones in schools and introduced parental control tools to limit screen time.
Athens is also seeking to push similar rules at European Union level, reflecting a broader trend across the continent. Most recently, Norway said it will introduce legislation banning social media for under-16s, while several other European countries are considering a similar move.
At the EU level, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently announced that an age verification app is technically ready. The tool is intended to allow users to prove their age without revealing personal details, as part of efforts to protect minors under the Digital Services Act.
While protecting children online is widely seen as a legitimate goal, concerns are growing about the wider implications of such measures. Privacy advocates warn that systems designed to verify age or identity could erode anonymity more broadly, raising the risk of surveillance, data breaches, and self-censorship.
Zoltán Kottász is a journalist for europeanconservative.com, based in Budapest. He worked for many years as a journalist and as the editor of the foreign desk at the Hungarian daily, Magyar Nemzet. He focuses primarily on European politics.
