The unveiling of key aspects and tools of the national strategy for digital addiction of adults is being held this hour at a special event by the government.

In the aftermath of the total access ban imposed by Australia on children and adolescents, Greece wants to lead the debate at the European level, presenting practical tools in the direction of strengthening parental control rather than a horizontal ban.

Relevant government officials believe that an announced ban will not solve any problem and add that it is crucial to bring parents into the equation, who should exercise substantive control over the content their children are confronted with. At the same time, in addition to the national initiatives that will be launched in the coming months, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who returned from his short holiday in Chania, will stress that Greece will also take initiatives at the European level to formulate a digital rights charter for children.

All those involved in the debate, moreover, recognize that European countries – as a major market for technology companies – must take a coordinated approach to this capital issue, which is found practically all over Europe.

Applications and “cutters”

On the practical side, the relevant ministries (Digital Governance, Education, Family and Cohesion, and Health) will present aspects of the problem, involving both experts in the discussion and the interventions that the government is directly launching, at least at the digital level.

The first application that will soon be available will be Parco.Gov.Gr, which is in fact a digital manual of instructions for parents to implement the so-called “parental controls” on their children’s mobile phones. It will in effect be an organised portal with information on available applications and options.

The government will also set 15 years as the digital age of majority for children, so a stricter control framework will apply for younger ages, always far from horizontal bans. As government sources put it, the stakes of the intervention are for parents to effectively assume their responsibilities, while platforms must adapt their operation to the new data.

As for the previously announced Kids Wallet app, it is expected to be ready for use in March or April by the Ministry of Digital Governance. It will be an upgraded parental control app and will essentially link downloading social media apps to parental approval via the digital wallet we have on our phones from Gov.gr.

With the new year, there will also be a broad campaign in schools, parent associations, and so on, so that teachers and students recognize the need to address the problem, following the initiative to not use mobile phones while children are in classrooms. In a second year, there will also be a special provision by the Ministry of Health for a support line for children facing the specter of digital addiction.