Turkiye's parliament has approved a bill to block children under 15 from registering on major social media platforms, requiring age verification, parental controls and rapid action on harmful content. The vote followed a deadly school shooting in Kahramanmaras, prompting investigators to examine the attacker's online activity. President Erdogan has 15 days to sign the bill, which faces criticism from the main opposition as overly restrictive. The move mirrors recent steps in Australia and Indonesia and comes amid wider international debate on protecting children online.
Turkiye Parliament Approves Bill Restricting Social Media Access For Under-15s
A growing number of countries are considering and implementing restrictions on children's access to social media [Chris McGrath/Getty Images]
Turkiye's parliament has approved legislation that would bar children under 15 from opening accounts on major social media platforms, state media reported. Lawmakers say the measure aims to protect young people from online harms as part of a wider international push to strengthen digital safeguards for minors.
The vote came days after a shooting at a middle school in Kahramanmaras, in which a 14-year-old attacker killed nine students and a teacher; the attacker also died. Police are investigating the deceased boy's online activity to determine whether it influenced his actions.
Key Provisions
The proposed law would require social platforms to implement age-verification systems, provide parental-control tools and respond quickly when content is judged harmful, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. Platforms named in discussions include YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, which would be obliged to block under-15s from registering accounts and offer mechanisms that let parents manage their children's access.
Online gaming companies must appoint a local representative in Turkiye to ensure compliance. Regulators could impose penalties for breaches, including fines and reductions in internet bandwidth enforced by Turkiye's communications watchdog.
Political Reaction And Context
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has 15 days to sign the bill into law. Speaking after the Kahramanmaras attack, he warned of online risks to children, saying some digital sharing apps are corrupting young minds and describing parts of social media as cesspools.
President Erdogan: We are living in a period where some digital sharing applications are corrupting our children’s minds, and social media platforms have, to put it bluntly, become cesspools.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) criticised the measure, arguing that children should be protected through rights-based policies rather than broad bans. Rights groups and opposition figures have also previously accused the government of using internet restrictions to curb dissent; online communications were widely limited during last year's protests supporting imprisoned Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
International Parallels
Turkiye's move follows comparable steps abroad. In December, Australia introduced rules that led platforms to revoke access to about 4.7 million accounts believed to belong to children. Indonesia recently implemented regulations restricting under-16s from certain digital services to shield them from pornography, cyberbullying, scams and addiction. Spain, France and the United Kingdom are among other countries taking or considering measures to limit children's exposure to unregulated online content.
The bill is likely to prompt debate about how best to balance child protection, online privacy and freedom of expression, and about the technical and privacy implications of age verification at scale.
Help us improve.
