Greece to ban anonymity on social media

ATHENS – The Greek government is moving ahead with plans to ban anonymity on social media aimed at curbing rising toxicity, according to Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou.

“In ancient Greece, everyone could express their opinion openly and by name – they would raise their hand and share their views. This should inspire us as we shape a new digital democracy,” the minister said. uractive On the sidelines of the Delphi Economic Forum.

The idea has been circulating for months and is now being handled at the highest level of government – ​​within the office of the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Greece will hold national elections in early 2027 and campaigning has unofficially begun.

The government claims that on social media, national political debate often descends into coordinated harassment, fake news, threats and the spread of hate speech by anonymous users. In many cases, law enforcement has attempted unsuccessfully to identify users who violate the law through their online speech.

Additionally, although less common today, there have been several instances of anonymous accounts promoting the messages of specific political figures.

dealing with toxicity

Papastergiou said people are free to agree or disagree with an opinion, as long as they know who is expressing it.

He suggested, “The major problem behind anonymity is toxicity – anyone, especially on social media, can defame a person and carry out character assassination without facing any consequences.”

“We must find a way to require platforms to verify the identity of accounts,” he said, adding: “There are many technical ways to achieve this.”

The Deputy Prime Minister, Pavlos Marinakis, clarified that the intention is not to eliminate pseudonyms, but to ensure that each profile matches a real person. However, he did not rule out extending such measures to the broader Internet – including signed online articles.

Is this possible?

The main question for the Greek government is how such a plan could be implemented, both legally and politically.

The Digital Minister argued that platforms would prefer to maintain billions of anonymous or multiple accounts to sustain their business models. “However, we must do what we are committed to – protecting democracy and promoting a public sphere free of the toxicity that we see spreading across society every day,” he said.

Critics highlight the technical complexity of the issue and suggest that it may be more practical to implement an EU-wide approach. Meanwhile, EU governments considering such a measure would also need to address potential freedom of speech concerns – as digital rights campaigners have warned for years.

(BW, NL)