Turkey Prepares Social Media Ban for Children Under 15

New Regulations for Social Media Access A proposed amendment to Law No.
5651 in Turkey aims to prohibit social network providers from offering services to children who have not yet reached the age of 15.
Under the new draft prepared by the Ministry of Family and Social Services, companies will be legally obligated to implement all necessary technical measures, including robust age verification systems, to enforce this ban.
Social network providers will also be required to offer "parental control tools" that allow guardians to monitor usage times, manage account settings, and provide explicit approval for paid transactions.
These mechanisms must be designed to be clear, understandable, and easily accessible to users.
Strict Oversight for Digital Games The draft law introduces the formal definitions of "game provider" and "game distributor," making it mandatory for all digital games to be rated according to age criteria.
Games that are not properly rated will be barred from the market, and existing content that fails to meet these standards will be removed from platforms.
Furthermore, foreign-based game distributors with high daily access in Turkey will be required to maintain an official representative within the country.
The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) will have the power to request comprehensive information regarding algorithms and data processing mechanisms from these companies.
Failure to comply with these new obligations could result in significant administrative fines, ranging from 1 million to 30 million Turkish Liras.