Turkiye has barred social media platforms from providing services to children under the age of 15 under new regulations published in the country’s Official Gazette on Saturday.
The rules, issued by the Cyber Security Directorate, prohibit social network providers from offering services to anyone who has not reached the age threshold.
The regulations also require platforms to introduce age-appropriate services and take necessary measures to protect users aged 15 and older, with particular consideration for the best interests and development of minors.
Platforms face stricter child-safety requirements
Under the new rules, social media providers must consider children’s physical, mental, psychological, social and emotional development when designing and delivering their services.
The regulations also require providers to make their age-verification systems, algorithm structures and child-focused policies clear and open to scrutiny.
According to the published rules, these systems must be auditable and testable by users, parents and the Cyber Security Directorate.
Platforms must also establish clear, user-friendly parental control tools to help parents manage children’s access and online activities.
Age verification must protect personal data
The regulations emphasise that age-verification methods should prioritise users’ privacy and personal data protection.
Rather than establishing a person’s full identity, verification systems should focus on determining whether the user meets the required age threshold.
The approach is intended to allow platforms to enforce age restrictions while limiting the collection and processing of unnecessary personal information.
How providers will implement these requirements in practice, and what technical methods they will use to verify users’ ages, was not specified in the supplied report.
New Zealand Moves to Ban Social Media for Children Under 16
New legislation underpins social media restrictions
The regulations follow legislation on social media passed by the Turkish parliament in April.
The latest measures place additional responsibilities on online platforms to restrict access for younger children, provide safeguards for older minors and make parental controls more accessible.
The rules also introduce greater scrutiny of how platforms design their services for children and how their age-verification systems operate.
The new requirements mark a further step in Turkiye’s efforts to regulate children’s access to social media, although their practical impact will depend on enforcement and how providers adapt their services to comply.
