Turkey has introduced a ban on social media use for children under 15, alongside new restrictions on advertising, algorithms, and platform features for users aged 15 to 17. The rules were published in the Official Gazette on October 10 and will take effect on November 1, 2026, applying to all social media platforms operating in or accessible from Turkey, according to medianama.com.
Under the new regulation, social media platforms must verify users’ ages and prevent children under 15 from creating accounts. Existing users must complete age verification by March 31, 2027, after which platforms must close accounts belonging to children under 15. Age verification will be done through Turkey’s e-government portal, e-Devlet, which issues an age-verification token confirming whether a user meets the minimum age thresholds without revealing personal details to platforms. Temporary visitors can obtain a token using passport information.
For teenagers aged 15 to 17, social media accounts must be set to private, and switching to public profiles is prohibited. Platforms are also banned from allowing live streaming, behaviour-based profiling, personalised commercial advertising, and infinite scrolling for this age group. Accounts suspected of being used by underage users must be suspended until verification is completed, reflecting Turkey’s efforts to regulate social media use among minors and limit exposure to potentially harmful content.
The new rules will be enforced starting November 1, 2026, with a grace period for existing users to verify their age until March 31, 2027. Social media companies operating in Turkey will need to implement these age verification and content restriction measures to comply with the government’s mandate, marking a significant regulatory step in digital child protection.
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