Turkey has introduced a ban on social media use by children under 15, alongside restrictions on advertising, algorithms and platform features for users aged 15 to 17. The rules, published in the country’s Official Gazette on October 10, will take effect on November 1, 2026, and apply to social media platforms operating in or accessible from Turkey.
Under the regulation, platforms must verify users’ ages and prevent children under 15 from creating accounts. Existing users must complete age verification by March 31, 2027. Platforms must then close accounts belonging to children under 15.
How will age verification work?
Users must obtain an age-verification token through Turkey’s e-government portal, e-Devlet, using government authentication. The token will confirm whether a user meets the minimum age thresholds of 15 or 18 without disclosing their name, exact age or other identifying information to social media platforms.
Platforms must also suspend accounts suspected of being used by someone who does not meet the verified age requirement until the account holder completes age verification again. Temporary visitors to Turkey can obtain a separate token using passport details.
What restrictions apply to teenagers?
Children aged 15 to 17 can continue using social media, but platforms must keep their accounts private and cannot allow them to switch to public profiles.
The rules prohibit live streaming, behaviour-based profiling, personalised commercial advertisements and features that could encourage addictive use. They also ban interfaces that continuously present visual content through scrolling, tapping, clicking or automatic playback.
Platforms cannot recommend teenagers’ accounts to other users or recommend other accounts for teenagers to follow. Platforms must also prevent teenagers’ accounts from appearing in searches based on contact information, limit direct messaging to accounts the teenagers follow and turn off read receipts.
The regulation further prohibits syncing teenagers’ accounts with phone contacts or contact lists from other applications. Platforms must introduce measures to prevent others from taking screenshots of teenagers’ profiles, posts and images.
Social media companies must also provide parental controls for managing screen time, account settings, location sharing and purchases. These tools must not disproportionately interfere with children’s privacy.
What happens if platforms fail to comply?
Platforms must provide a free appeals process for users challenging age-verification decisions, account suspensions or restrictions. Appeals must receive human review, and platforms cannot delete account data while an appeal remains unresolved.
Companies must also publish annual figures on appeals, acceptance rates and resolution times. Violations may result in penalties under Turkey’s existing internet law, although regulators must first give platforms a reasonable opportunity to remedy breaches.
Why is Turkey introducing these restrictions?
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) introduced the legislation in Parliament in March 2026, citing concerns about children’s online safety. Parliament adopted the bill in April, before the government published the implementing regulation in October.
The move comes amid wider efforts to restrict children’s access to social media. Australia introduced a ban for children under 16 in December 2025, while the European Union and several European countries have pursued similar restrictions. However, Turkey’s regulation also raises questions about how age checks will protect users’ privacy and how platforms will enforce the rules without wrongly restricting access.
Read more:
- Turkey Proposes Social Media Ban for Children Under 15. Here Are the Countries Considering Similar Moves
- Turkey Imposes Heavy Fine on Meta After Refusal to Censor Social Media Content
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