Cyprus to introduce a minimum age of 15 for access to social media

Cyprus’s Council of Ministers has approved an action plan to protect minors online. The main measure is a minimum age of 15 for access to social media. Platforms themselves will be required to verify users’ ages using reliable mechanisms.

The plan was presented by Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nicodemos Damianou. According to him, the data show the scale and urgency of the problem: 98% of young people in Cyprus actively use social media — the highest rate in the EU. According to Eurostat, this refers to the 16–29 age group. Young people’s ability to critically assess information online is weak, however.

Damianou noted that international organisations link the growing use of social media to the development of addiction and the displacement of other activities, meaning that relying solely on platform self-regulation and personal responsibility is not enough.

The bill on the age threshold will be submitted for public consultation, preceded by an assessment of its impact on children’s rights with the participation of youth organisations. The document is planned to be submitted to parliament in December. The requirements for age-verification mechanisms should align with the EU-wide standard currently being developed for 2027.

The second part of the plan is a digital age-verification mechanism. It will be integrated into the Digital Citizen app within a year. The mechanism is based on a technical solution proposed by the European Commission and will allow users to prove that they are above a certain age threshold without disclosing their exact date of birth or other personal data to the online service.

The third part is education and awareness-raising. Modules on safe online behaviour will be added to school curricula at all levels, information technology subjects in secondary and technical schools will be updated, teachers will receive dedicated training, and campaigns will target children, parents and educators. Implementation of the plan will be monitored and adjusted as technology develops.