Social media ban introduced for under-15s with regulation published in the Official Gazette
With a new regulation published in the Official Gazette, children under the age of 15 are banned from using social networks, while age verification procedures will be conducted via e-Government.
The new regulation prepared by the Presidency of Cybersecurity has been published in the Official Gazette. Accordingly, 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 through the e-Government gateway.
Scope and details of the regulation
The regulation prepared by the Presidency of Cybersecurity was announced by being published in the Official Gazette. With the regulation, procedures and principles regarding age verification for social network access, the provision of special services for children, and parental control tools have been established.
Age verification and e-Government integration
Social network providers will check the age of users during the account creation stage through the token provided via the e-Government Gateway. Account opening requests of children found to be under the age of 15 will definitely not be accepted.
Privacy and protection of personal data
The protection of personal data will be fundamental in age verification processes. Instead of identifying all identity information, secure methods will be used that only allow it to be understood whether the user meets the specified age limit.
Segregated service for children over 15
Children who have reached the age of 15 will be provided with a service tailored to their developmental needs and segregated from other users. During this process, it has been made mandatory to observe the physical, mental, psychological, social, and emotional development of children.
Privacy and restrictions in children's accounts
Within the scope of the segregated service to be offered to children who have reached the age of 15, privacy settings will be applied at a high level by default. Child users' accounts will be kept private initially, and broadcasting live streams and displaying personalized advertisements will not be allowed.
Parental control tools and time limits
The regulation also introduces an obligation for social network providers to offer parental control tools. Parents will be able to control their children's account settings, limit usage times, and approve paid transactions.
Effective dates and existing accounts
The regulation will enter into force on November 1, 2026. Age verification procedures for existing accounts must be completed by March 31, 2027, and accounts that do not meet the age limit will be closed.