Greece presents strategy to combat youth internet addiction

(Reuters) - The Greek government announced on Monday a national strategy to protect minors from internet addiction and excessive social media use.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said protecting children's well-being was a societal imperative, although he voiced doubts regarding the effectiveness of a complete ban on social media.

Instead, he said the challenge for the future was how to design apps with children and teenagers in mind.

He was speaking in a debate with a 16-year-old as part of an event to mark the launch of the strategy whose main pillars are strengthening parental controls, age verification and engagement with social media platforms.

On Monday, Greece launched a dedicated website, providing user-friendly guides and instructions on parental control features, and next year it will roll out a digital wallet application that will serve as a parental control and age verification system.

(Reporting by Antonis Pothitos; Editing by Barbara Lewis)