Türkiye’s Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş said on Wednesday that new regulations governing social media networks and online gaming platforms represent a major step toward strengthening child safety in the digital environment, as the government unveiled its roadmap for child rights policies through 2030.
Speaking at the Child Rights Monitoring and Evaluation Board meeting in Ankara, Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş said the government would review progress under its current action plan while outlining priorities for 2026-2030, with a particular focus on the opportunities and risks created by digital technologies.
“We have acted with a vision that recognizes and supports the potential of our children,” Göktaş noted. “We will continue implementing policies centered on the well-being and happiness of our children.”
She said the ministry was pursuing a policy framework aimed at making digital spaces safer for children while promoting digital literacy and responsible internet use. The government's 2026-2030 Action Plan for Empowering Children in the Digital World entered into force in February through a presidential circular signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
According to Göktaş, the plan includes measures to improve safe internet use, strengthen digital literacy, increase awareness of online privacy, and ensure children have access to age-appropriate content. Authorities are also working with other public institutions to create what she described as a healthier digital ecosystem for children.
Göktaş said regulations covering social media platforms and online gaming services, which entered into force in April, marked "an important milestone" in improving children's digital safety.
She said the ministry had spent more than a year developing a model tailored to Türkiye before introducing the framework.
Under the new rules, social media companies and gaming platforms are required to implement safeguards designed to protect children. The regulation establishes the basic framework for social media use by children under the age of 15 and requires platforms to provide separate, age-appropriate and more closely supervised digital environments for users between 15 and 18 years old.
"No digital service provider will be able to ignore children's age, developmental level, privacy and safety," Göktaş said, adding that social media networks and gaming platforms now have legal responsibilities to create child-friendly digital environments.
She said the government's broader objective was to ensure digital platforms assume clear, effective and accountable responsibility for user safety, while emphasizing that protecting children online has become a shared global challenge requiring international cooperation in addition to national legislation.
Göktaş also highlighted implementation results under Türkiye's 2023-2028 Child Rights Strategy Document and Action Plan.
She said authorities had achieved a 74% implementation rate in measures promoting child rights and participation, making children more visible in decision-making processes. Progress reached 82% in child-friendly justice initiatives, 75% in family and child-focused services, 92% in alternative care services, 67% in services for children affected by disasters and crises, and 80% in programs promoting safe internet use.
The minister added children had also been directly involved in shaping public policy. At a recent meeting of the Children's Advisory Board, participants discussed the agenda for this year's COP31 climate conference, examining the effects of climate change on children's health, safety, education and future from their own perspective.
Describing the government's "Family and Population Decade" initiative as an opportunity to strengthen family bonds, Göktaş said the coming years would focus on preparing children for the future through comprehensive family-centered policies while continuing to invest in the country's human capital.
