The Turkish government announced on Saturday that access to social media platforms is banned for children under 15. This law was officially published after the bill was passed in the Turkish parliament last April and will come into effect on November 1, 2023.
Details of the New Law
According to Article 7 of this law, social platforms are required to take "necessary technical and administrative measures, including age verification" to enforce these regulations. The age verification system will work using a government "token." This law also includes regulations for teenagers over 15 and states that platforms cannot provide services that may have an "addictive effect" to this age group.
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History of Restrictions in Turkey
Turkey has repeatedly imposed strict restrictions on social media services and, in some cases, banned access to the accounts of media and activists. For example, Ankara banned Instagram for a week in 2024 due to allegations of censoring users mourning for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Last week, Turkey blocked a news website and its social accounts due to what the court deemed "LGBT promotion," which sparked strong protests from human rights and media freedom groups.
A 2025 report from the American think tank Freedom House described Turkey's internet as "not free." Meanwhile, in September, the European Union proposed legislation to limit children's access to social media and video-sharing platforms until the age of 15, which was raised after intense pressure from EU leaders.
Countries like Austria, Denmark, France, Greece, and Spain are advancing national laws to restrict children's access to social media, and the UK is also expected to introduce a similar ban next year. Additionally, Canada has proposed a bill to limit access to social media platforms for children under 16.
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