Greece to ban anonymity on social media

ATHENS – The Greek government is pressing ahead with a plan to ban anonymity on social media, aiming to curb rising toxicity, according to Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister of digital governance.

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

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

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

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

Moreover, although less common today, there have been numerous instances of anonymous accounts promoting specific political figures messaging. 

Tackling toxicity

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

“The major problem behind anonymity is toxicity – anyone, especially on social media, can smear an individual and carry out character assassination without facing any consequences,” he suggested.

“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.”

Pavlos Marinakis, the deputy prime minister, clarified that the intention is not to abolish pseudonyms but to ensure that every profile corresponds to a real person. He did not, however, rule out extending such measures to the wider internet – including signed online articles.

Is it feasible?

The key 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 in order to sustain their business models. “However, we must do what we are committed to – safeguarding democracy and fostering a public sphere free from toxicity, which we see spilling over into society every day,” he said.

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

(bw, nl)