New Social Media Account Restriction for Under-15s Starts November 1st

With the new social media regulation entering into force in Turkey on November 1, 2026, children under the age of 15 are prevented from opening new accounts, while an age verification process via e-Government is initiated for existing accounts.

The "Regulation on Providing Child-Specific Segregated Services and Age Verification by Social Network Providers," prepared for children's social media use in Turkey and published by the Presidency's Cybersecurity Directorate, will begin to be implemented as of November 1, 2026. Within the scope of the regulation, while children under the age of 15 are banned from opening new accounts on social media platforms, the transition schedule has also been clarified for the process expected to affect approximately 10 million children's accounts.

Age verification procedures for existing accounts, which will be carried out free of charge via the turkiye.gov.tr address or the e-Government mobile application, must be completed by March 31, 2027. Accounts that fail to verify by this date or are determined to be younger than 15 will be closed. In the new system, all identity information of the user will not be transferred to the platforms, but only information regarding whether they meet the age limit will be transmitted. In addition, the data of users whose accounts are closed will be deleted without delay unless an appeal application has been made.

For users between the ages of 15 and 18, special security rules will apply, such as keeping accounts private by default, prohibiting them from going live, turning off follower lists, banning infinite scrolling, and personalized ads. Officials warned users against fraudsters who take advantage of the age verification process, emphasizing that procedures should be carried out exclusively through official e-Government channels.