Age Verification

Why Politicians Are Suddenly Arguing About VPNs and Children

In May 2026, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) — the in-house think-tank that briefs Members of the European Parliament — published a policy briefing that put one specific tool on the youth-protection agenda for the first time: the virtual private network, or VPN.

The briefing does not propose a law. It does not set a deadline. What it does is raise a question that legislators in Brussels are starting to take seriously: if a country forces social-media and adult-content platforms to verify the age of their users, and children respond by downloading a VPN to bypass the check, does the law work at all?

Social Media Age Limits and Child Protection Laws — Country Tracker

Governments worldwide are rewriting the rules for how social media platforms can interact with minors. The pace has accelerated sharply since Australia became the first country to enforce a blanket under-16 ban in December 2025. Several EU member states have followed with under-15 laws, and the EU itself is layering on the Digital Services Act, the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act, and a bloc-wide age verification app.

This page tracks the current state in every country we cover — sortable by status, age limit, or year. It is updated monthly. See our methodology for how status fields are sourced and verified.

Turkey Bans Social Media for Under-15s — Child Protection or Surveillance?

On the night of April 22, 2026, Turkey’s parliament passed a bill restricting social media for children under 15. The headline reads like the ones from Athens, Nicosia or Paris earlier in the month — another European country drawing an age line for social platforms. The details read very differently.

Unlike the EU’s zero-knowledge approach, Turkey’s law is tightly coupled to the national ID system, adds a one-hour takedown mandate for large platforms, and arrives on top of a parallel draft that would require every adult user to log in with an e-Devlet (national ID) credential. That is why press-freedom groups, law professors and opposition MPs are calling it something other than a child-protection law.

Cyprus Bans Social Media for Children Under 15

Cyprus has become the latest European country to ban social media for children. On April 16, 2026, President Nikos Christodoulides announced that children under 15 will no longer be allowed to use social media platforms in Cyprus.

The announcement comes just one day after the European Commission declared its age verification app technically ready for deployment — and just eight days after neighboring Greece announced its own under-15 ban.

What Is Being Banned?

The ban targets social media platforms built around user-generated content and algorithmic feeds:

The EU Wants an Age Verification App — What Parents Can Do Right Now

On April 15, 2026, the European Commission announced that its age verification app is technically ready for deployment. The system uses zero-knowledge proofs — a cryptographic method that lets a person prove they are above a certain age (13, 16, or 18) without revealing their actual birthdate or any other personal data.

Seven EU member states — France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Greece, Cyprus, and Ireland — plan to integrate the app into their national digital identity wallets by the end of 2026. The goal is to provide a single, privacy-preserving standard that platforms can rely on, replacing the current patchwork of national rules with something that actually works across borders.

Denmark Bans Social Media for Under-15s — with a Parental Exception at 13

On October 8, 2025, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen opened parliament with a sentence that set the tone for the rest of the year in Europe: “Mobile phones and social media are stealing our children’s childhood.” One month later her coalition had a deal. Denmark’s social media ban for under-15s — with a parental opt-in from age 13 — is now the template several other EU countries are watching most closely.

Germany's Social Media Age Debate: 13, 14, or 16?

While France has passed a ban for under-15s and Greece has announced the same for 2027, Germany is still arguing about the number on the door. On April 13, 2026, two contributions landed on the same day from very different directions: the Cologne-based Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) released its Bildungsmonitor analysis suggesting 13 as a sensible minimum age, and in the taz, Potsdam education researcher Nina Kolleck argued that any age limit — 13, 14, or 16 — is a capitulation to TikTok and Meta if the laws already on the books go unenforced.

Greece to Ban Social Media for Under-15s from 2027

Greece has announced it will ban children under 15 from using social media — and the announcement came in an unusual way. On April 8, 2026, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis posted a video on TikTok to announce a ban on… TikTok (and other platforms) for young users.

“We decided to proceed with something difficult but necessary — banning access to social media for children under 15,” the Prime Minister said in his video message.

France Votes to Ban Social Media for Children Under 15

France is set to become one of the strictest countries in the world when it comes to protecting children from social media. On April 1, 2026, the French Senate approved a bill that would ban children under 15 from using social media platforms — following a similar vote in the National Assembly in January.

What the Senate Voted On

The bill introduces a two-tier system to keep minors off social media:

The Global Wave of Child Protection Laws in 2026: What Parents Need to Know

Governments around the world are taking unprecedented action to protect children online. In 2026, a wave of new legislation is reshaping how technology companies must treat young users — and what parents can expect from the platforms their children use every day.

Here is what you need to know about the most important child protection laws taking effect this year.