Social Media Regulation for Children Under 15 from Minister of Family and Social Services Göktaş
With the new social media regulation announced by Family Minister Göktaş, services will not be provided to children under 15, and age verification via e-Government will be mandatory.
Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş shared the details of the social media regulation targeting children under 15 with the public. Pursuant to the regulation entering into force on November 1, social network providers will not be able to offer services to children who have not completed the age of 15, and age verification will be performed via e-Government without sharing identity information.
Effective Date and Scope of the Regulation
Within the scope of the regulation enacted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in May and whose preparations have been completed, the new regulation will enter into force on November 1. Within the framework of the determined rules, social network providers will strictly not offer services to children under the age of 15.
Existing accounts will also undergo age verification in the new process, and inspections regarding the application will be carried out meticulously.
Identity-Hidden Age Verification via e-Government
Age verification procedures to be carried out on social media platforms will be conducted via the e-Government system. During this process, users' identity information will not be directly shared with the relevant social media platforms.
Thanks to the application, platforms will be able to verify whether users comply with the age limit through a secure infrastructure.
Restrictions for Children Aged 15-18
Social media accounts of children between the ages of 15 and 18 will be completely private. The follower and following information of these accounts will not be viewable from the outside.
Live broadcasting will not be permitted from accounts in this age group, and technical measures preventing screenshots will be implemented.
Design Against Addiction and Advertising Limitations
Legal limitations will be introduced on accounts for designs that lay the groundwork for behavioral addiction and prolong the time spent on the platform. Accounts will not be customized based on children's behaviors.
Personal data will strictly not be subject to profiling activities and personalized commercial advertisements.
Parental Control and Obligations of Platforms
Platforms will be held responsible for implementing effective filtering and protective recommendation system settings against harmful content, and sanctions will be applied to those who do not comply with these rules.
Parents will be able to closely monitor their children's account settings, paid transactions, daily screen time, and location sharing.