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Türkiye has introduced sweeping new social media regulations aimed at protecting children and young users online, requiring platforms to verify user ages, strengthen parental controls and remove harmful content within strict deadlines.
The rules, announced Wednesday, prohibit children under 15 from registering on social media platforms and place new compliance burdens on large tech companies operating in the country. Türkiye joins Australia, France, Greece and Portugal in adopting similar child-protection frameworks for the digital space.
The regulations will take effect six months after publication in the Official Gazette.
At the heart of the new framework is a mandatory age verification requirement. Social media companies will be required to implement effective systems to ensure that users under 15 cannot create accounts, while platforms must also offer differentiated, age-appropriate services for users aged 15 and older.
Parents will gain new oversight tools under the rules, including the ability to manage account settings, approve or restrict in-app purchases and monitor or limit their children's screen time. Platforms will also be obliged to take steps to prevent deceptive or harmful advertising targeting minors.
The stricter obligations will apply specifically to social media platforms with more than 10 million daily users in Türkiye.
Under the new rules, large platforms must comply with content removal or access-blocking orders within one hour in urgent cases involving national security or public safety, a significantly tighter window than what most platforms currently observe under general content moderation standards.
To prevent removed content from resurfacing, companies will be required to deploy artificial intelligence and automated systems ensuring that previously deleted illegal material is not re-uploaded.
Platforms will also be required to provide data to authorities without delay and within a maximum of 15 days, and to conduct risk assessments on the broader societal impact of their services.
Türkiye's new framework introduces a graduated enforcement mechanism for companies that fail to meet their obligations. If a platform does not comply within 30 days of receiving an administrative fine, new advertising on the platform will be prohibited.
Continued violations could trigger court-approved bandwidth reductions of 50 percent, rising to as much as 90 percent, effectively throttling access to the platform across Türkiye.
The regulations extend beyond social media to online gaming. Platforms will be prohibited from offering games without proper age ratings, and unrated titles may only be made available to adults under the highest age classification.
Foreign-based gaming platforms with more than 100,000 daily users in Türkiye will be required to appoint a local legal representative and respond to requests from Turkish authorities within set deadlines. Gaming companies will also be required to provide clear and accessible parental control tools in line with the broader requirements imposed on social media platforms.
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