ISTANBUL – In a significant move, Turkish legislators approved a new bill late Wednesday aimed at limiting social media access for children under the age of 15, as reported by state media.
This legislative step aligns with a global initiative to shield the youth from potentially harmful online experiences.
The approval of the bill follows a tragic incident last week where a 14-year-old boy carried out a deadly shooting at a middle school in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey. The attack resulted in the deaths of nine students and a teacher. Authorities are currently examining the boy’s online activity for insights into his motives.
According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, the legislation mandates social media companies to implement age-verification systems, offer parental control features, and swiftly address content that may be harmful.
For the bill to become law, it now awaits ratification by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has 15 days to sign it. In response to the Kahramanmaras tragedy, Erdogan emphasized the importance of reducing online threats to children’s safety and privacy.
“We are in an era where digital platforms are negatively influencing our children’s minds, and social media has essentially become a toxic environment,” Erdogan stated during a televised speech on Monday.
The main opposition party — the Republican People’s Party, or CHP — has criticized the proposal, saying children should be protected “not with bans but with rights-based policies.”
Under the law, digital platforms — such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and others — would have to block children under 15 from opening accounts and introduce parental controls that would manage children’s access.
Online game companies will also be required to appoint a representative in Turkey to ensure they abide by the new regulations. Potential penalties include internet bandwidth reductions and fines imposed by Turkey’s communications watchdog.
The Turkish government has a recent record of restricting online platforms as they have grown as a means of expressing dissent. Online communications were widely restricted during last year’s protests in support of Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.
Restrictions on social media access for children under 16 first began in December in Australia, where social media companies revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children.
Last month, Indonesia began implementing a new government regulation banning children younger than 16 from access to digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction.
Some other countries — including Spain, France and the United Kingdom — are also taking or considering measures to restrict children’s access to social media amid growing concern that they are being harmed by exposure to unregulated social media content.
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