Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş continues to pledge a safer era for children in the digital world, informing reporters on Monday after a Cabinet meeting that a new regulation will be in force within six months to regulate social media use for children under the age of 15.
Göktaş said the world was adapting to similar practices and that Ankara had developed its own model. “We specifically examined the Australia (model) and made assessments to address any shortcomings in that model.”
Göktaş said a new law involving social media regulations will create safer digital spaces for children and promote controlled use. She said they aimed to prevent children’s exposure to content not suitable for their ages and development. The minister stated that the ministry has set up a working group for setting the rules in the implementation of the regulations on social media and is in coordination with all relevant public agencies.
“This working group will soon establish the rules, and the regulation will be in force within six months,” she said.
She noted that the efforts would not be limited to a single legal regulation but would include a comprehensive technical infrastructure and application mechanisms. She also pointed out that the new law assigned responsibilities to social network providers and that authorities would implement an age verification system, particularly through the e-Government portal. The system will be maintained in coordination with the Cybersecurity Directorate of the Turkish Presidency and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK).
