Turkey bans social media for children under 15
Starting November 1, 2026, Turkey bans social media for children under 15. Platforms will verify age through e-Devlet, and teenagers' accounts will be closed. For ages 15–17 — private profiles and no direct advertising.
Starting November 1, 2026, Turkish children under the age of 15 are banned from using social media. The decree was published on October 10 in the official government gazette Resmî Gazete, the Anadolu agency reported.
"Social media providers may not provide services to children who have not reached the age of 15," the document states.
How will age verification work?
Social platforms are required to verify users' ages at registration through the state e-services portal e-Devlet. A special digital token will be used for this: it confirms age without transmitting personal data to the platforms.
Users under 15 will not be able to create an account. The new requirements will also affect already registered accounts:
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platforms must complete age verification of existing accounts by March 31, 2027;
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accounts of children under 15 will be closed.
What restrictions will be introduced for teenagers aged 15–17?
Separate rules apply to users aged 15 to 17. Their accounts will be private, and their lists of followers and accounts they follow will be hidden from strangers.
Teenagers will be banned from:
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hosting live streams;
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receiving personalized advertising.
They will only be able to receive direct messages from accounts they follow themselves.
In addition, platforms will have to limit features that encourage excessive use of social media, including infinite feed scrolling. Restrictions will be introduced on personalized recommendations and the use of personal data for advertising profiling.
Parents and guardians will be given control tools: adults will be able to manage children's profile settings, limit time on social media, and approve paid purchases and subscriptions, Hürriyet Daily News writes.
What are other countries doing?
Turkey has joined the states tightening minors' access to social media.
Australia was the first to set a nationwide minimum age — 16 years to register on major platforms. The restrictions came into force on December 10, 2025, and covered Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, X, and other services.
According to Australia's online safety regulator eSafety, by mid-December 2025 platforms had already restricted access to approximately 4.7 million accounts of users under 16.
The goal of such measures is to protect children from harmful content, cyberbullying, social media addiction, and the negative impact of digital platforms on mental health.
Original: resmigazete.gov.tr
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