Turkish legislators approved A draft law restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15 was introduced on Thursday, according to state media.
The bill approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly amends the Social Services Law and several other laws. It stipulates that social network providers must not offer services to children under 15 years of age and must take necessary measures, including age verification, to prevent such access. The law also requires social media platforms to establish separate age-appropriate services for minors over 15 years old and to publish the measures they take on their websites.
The legislation also requires social network providers to offer parental control tools that allow parents to control account settings, approve paid transactions such as purchases or subscriptions, and monitor or limit usage time. Platforms with more than 10 million daily users from Turkey must also comply with certain orders to remove content or block access within one hour in urgent cases.
The bill now awaits approval from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who must do so accept within 15 days for it to become law. Erdoğan recently called for greater protection for children online following a shooting at a school in Kahramanmaraş, where police are investigating the 14-year-old perpetrator’s online activities.
The main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, criticized the bill, arguing that children should be protected through rights-based policies rather than bans. Opposition MPs also raised concerns that blanket restrictions could be ineffective if children can continue to access platforms through adult accounts, virtual private networks or other means.
The measure follows previous government efforts to regulate online platforms in Turkey. The government previously restricted access to key platforms during times of political unrest, including during protests in support of jailed Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Digital rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns that sweeping online restrictions can be used to suppress dissent and restrict access to information.
The legislation comes amid a broader global debate over children’s access to social media. Australia’s under-16 social media restrictions came into effect in December 2025, a policy previously criticized by Amnesty International as an “ineffective quick fix.” Australian regulators later reported non-compliance on several platforms. Social media restrictions for under-16s also came into effect in Indonesia in March.
Children’s digital rights are protected by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Childwhich requires states to treat the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has also recognized this General Comment #25 that the rights of the child apply in the digital environment, including rights to privacy, expression, access to information and protection from harm.
