Social media ban regulation for individuals under 15 in Turkey
With the regulation published in the Official Gazette by the Presidency of Cybersecurity, the use of social media by children under 15 has been banned in Turkey, and platforms are now required to implement e-Government-based age verification.
A new regulation prepared by the Presidency of Cybersecurity bans social media for children under 15 in Turkey, makes age verification mandatory for platforms via the e-Government gateway, and grants a deadline until March 31, 2027, for existing accounts.
Publication and Scope of the Regulation
The Regulation on the Provision of Dedicated Services to Children by Social Network Providers and Age Verification, prepared by the Presidency of Cybersecurity, has been published in the Official Gazette. With this regulation, all domestic and foreign social network providers accessible from Turkey are prohibited from providing services to children who have not turned 15.
Age Verification and e-Government Process
Social media platforms are obligated to verify the age of users during the new account creation stage. This age verification process will be carried out via a special token to be generated through the e-Government Gateway upon the user's request, and this token will only contain information on whether the age limits have been met.
Deadline Granted for Existing Accounts
It has been made mandatory to complete age verification procedures for previously created existing accounts by March 31, 2027. It was announced that all existing accounts determined to belong to individuals under the age of 15 during these checks will be closed.
Measures Taken for Individuals Under 18
Social media accounts of young users who are 15 years old or older but have not yet reached 18 will be set to private by default. Live streaming features will not be allowed on these accounts, and technical measures will be implemented to prevent taking screenshots.
Restrictions on Usage Habits
The use of features that allow content to be displayed consecutively through infinite scrolling will be blocked on accounts belonging to children and youth. Additionally, users' personal data cannot be utilized in behavioral profiling and personalized commercial advertising activities.