New Social Media Regulations and Restrictions on the Way for Under-18s
Within the scope of the under-18 social media regulations prepared by the Ministry of Family and Social Services, age verification via e-Government is becoming mandatory and certain features are being restricted.
Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş announced that the new regulations regarding social media use by children under 15 will enter into force on November 1, and the compliance period will continue until March 31, 2027.
Regulatory Schedule and Compliance Period
Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş shared the timeline for the new social media regulations prepared to protect children in digital environments. Accordingly, the established rules will enter into force as of November 1, while the period granted for platforms to fully comply with the system will continue until March 31, 2027.
Age Verification via e-Government
With the new system, it will become mandatory for users who want to open accounts on social media platforms to perform age verification via e-Government. Users will be able to create accounts using the digital code they obtain, and platforms will maintain age controls throughout the duration of service.
Restrictions Imposed on the 15-18 Age Group
In the social media experience of young people between the ages of 15 and 18, addictive or risky features such as infinite scrolling, continuous scrolling to the top, screen recording, and broadcasting live will be restricted. In addition, only followed accounts will be allowed to send messages, and the read receipts feature will be turned off.
Two-Way Inspection Mechanism
Age control will not be limited to account creation alone; in suspicious cases, social media platforms will direct users for re-verification. Thus, a two-way control mechanism will be operated both by the platforms and the state, keeping security at the maximum level.