Greece announces strategy to address internet addiction among minors

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Greece announced on Monday a national strategy to address internet addiction and excessive social media usage among minors, state news agency AMNA reported.

Speaking at the launch event, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: "It is the image of children glued to a mobile phone who lose touch with the world. We discover along the way that they have severe psychological problems - depression, isolation, distraction. It has to do with the dark side of technology."

Maintaining that a universal ban would not be ineffective, he said the examination of the state’s regulatory role and holding the companies that design algorithms to maximize screen time, accountable are among the steps that be taken.

He said protecting the child's well-being is a societal imperative.

The country has launched a dedicated website, providing parents with tools to activate pre-installed parental controls on mobile devices.​​​​​​​

Next year, the government will introduce a digital wallet application for parental control and age verification system.