Era of age verification via e-Government begins on social media platforms
With the regulation published in the Official Gazette, e-Government integration and new security rules have been introduced to protect children on social media.
The implementation principles of the under-15 regulation aimed at protecting children on social media platforms have been published in the Official Gazette, and the new rules have become clear alongside the implementation process.
e-Government Integration
With the new regulation, the e-Government Gateway integration has been made mandatory for users to prove their age limit during social network login procedures. Users will generate a token verifying the age threshold via e-Government and upload it to the system, and platforms will be able to suspend accounts in suspicious cases.
Youth Aged 15-18
Social media will not be banned for youths between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, but platforms will be subject to strict security rules. Child accounts in this age group will be set to private by default, and follower information will not be visible externally.
Child Accounts and Interface Restrictions
For the security of child accounts, taking screenshots of profile photos and posts will be prevented, and the live broadcasting feature will not be available. Additionally, scrolling sequential content interfaces such as Reels or Shorts will not be provided to these accounts.
Parental Control Tools
While platforms will be mandated to offer parental control tools, purchasing and paid membership transactions will be entirely subject to parental approval.
Sanctions and Penalties
Social media companies that fail to comply with the introduced rules may be subject to administrative fines ranging from 10 million TL to 30 million TL. In addition, severe sanctions such as advertising bans and narrowing of internet traffic by up to 90 percent will be applied.
Implementation Schedule
Within the scope of the regulation coming into effect on November 1st, social network providers will be required to request e-Government-approved age verification tokens from all existing users by March 31, 2027.