Greece has unveiled plans to launch an app designed to enhance parental control over their children’s mobile device usage through digital age verification and internet browsing restrictions.
Minister for Digital Governance, Demetris Papastergiu, announced that the app, called “Child Wallet,” is set to be launched in March. It aims to protect children under 15 from the risks of excessive and inappropriate internet use.
The app will be linked to the e-services platform and will work alongside the existing application used by adults for digital identification documents.
“This is a significant step forward,” Papastergiu told reporters, noting that the app will incorporate advanced algorithms to monitor usage and implement stringent authentication processes.
“The ‘Child Wallet’ app will serve two primary purposes: it will simplify parental controls significantly and act as our official national tool for verifying users’ age,” he said.
A recent survey by the Greek research organization KMOP revealed that 76.6% of children aged 9–12 access the internet through personal devices, 58.6% use social media daily, and 22.8% have encountered inappropriate content.
Papastergiu stated that the government hopes the child-targeted app will be pre-installed on smartphones sold in Greece by the end of 2025.
Despite criticism from some digital rights and religious groups, government-controlled apps and online services—many of which were introduced during the pandemic—are generally popular in Greece, as they are seen as a way to bypass the country’s traditionally slow bureaucracy.
The planned measures for online child protection could surpass regulations in other European countries by introducing more direct government involvement.
These initiatives will also hold social media platforms more accountable for enforcing age restrictions, Papastergiu added.
