15 Age Limit and e-Government Verification Regulation for Social Media Use

According to the new regulation published in the Official Gazette, social network providers will not be able to offer services to children who have not reached the age of 15, and age verification will be carried out via the e-Government Gateway.

Age Limit and Verification Process

According to the regulation published in the Official Gazette, social network providers will not be able to provide services to children under the age of 15. Age verification will be done via a token obtained through the e-Government Gateway.

During the account opening stage, requests from those under the age of 15 will not be accepted. Based on the protection of personal data in the process, methods that determine only the age limit will be used instead of identity identification.

Privacy Rules for Children's Accounts

Differentiated services that take into account the physical and mental development of children over the age of 15 will be offered. These accounts will initially open with high-level privacy settings.

Live broadcasting and personalized advertising will not be permitted in children's accounts. Children will only be able to receive messages from people they follow, and their lists will be kept private.

Parental Control Tools

Within the scope of the regulation, social network providers are mandated to offer parental control tools. Through these tools, parents will be able to control account settings.

Parents will also be able to limit their children's daily usage time and manage paid transactions on the platform by giving approval.

Transition Dates and Existing Accounts

The new regulation will officially enter into force on November 1, 2026. Age verification procedures for existing user accounts must be completed by March 31, 2027.

As a result of the verification to be carried out, the existing accounts of users determined to be under the age of 15 will be completely closed.