Türkiye will bar children under 15 from accessing social media accounts starting on Nov. 1, requiring platforms to verify users' ages through a government-linked system and introduce new safeguards for teenagers, including private accounts and restrictions on livestreaming and personalized advertising.

Prepared by the Presidential Cyber Security Directorate, the regulation establishes age-verification procedures, parental controls and mechanisms for challenging account-related decisions.

Users will verify their ages through a digital token generated via Türkiye's e-Government Gateway, known as e-Devlet. The token will indicate whether users have reached the age thresholds of 15 and 18 without disclosing identifying information such as their names.

Platforms will be prohibited from accepting new registrations from children under 15. Existing accounts must undergo age verification by March 31, 2027, with accounts identified as belonging to under-15s subject to closure following notification and objection procedures.

Under legislation passed by Parliament in April, noncompliant social networks face fines of up to 3% of worldwide annual turnover, advertising bans and, in certain circumstances, internet bandwidth restrictions of up to 90%.

Teenagers aged 15 to 17 will have private accounts by default, while livestreaming and personalized advertising will be prohibited. Platforms must also restrict commercial profiling of children and limit incoming messages to accounts they follow.

Platforms must also restrict features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay, prevent children's accounts from being recommended to other users and limit the visibility of follower and following lists.

Parents will be able to manage account settings, limit screen time, oversee location sharing and approve paid transactions. Users and parents can challenge age-verification decisions, suspensions and account closures, with appeals subject to meaningful human review rather than solely automated assessment.

Balancing safety and freedom

Dr. Gül Esra Atalay, dean of Üsküdar University and a faculty member in its Department of New Media and Communication, said age restrictions could help protect children from online risks, including threats to their privacy, safety and psychosocial development. However, she cautioned against expecting restrictions alone to resolve the underlying problems.

"Social media companies can use their existing technological capabilities much more effectively to ensure children's safety,” Atalay said.

She argued that recommendation systems should prioritize children's developmental needs, psychological well-being and best interests rather than maximizing engagement and the time users spend on platforms.

Atalay also questioned how effectively the new restrictions could be enforced, noting that children might circumvent age-verification systems by using their parents' accounts or virtual private networks (VPNs). Such workarounds could make their online activities more difficult for parents to monitor.

She warned that restrictions could also have unintended consequences if children become reluctant to tell their families about harmful online experiences.

"Children may hide negative online experiences from their families for fear of being punished or having their devices taken away,” she said.

Atalay said digital literacy, parental awareness and open communication should accompany age restrictions, enabling children to seek help when they encounter problems rather than concealing their online activities.

Dr. Mustafa Arslan, deputy dean of the Faculty of Communication at Ankara Medipol University, similarly argued that age limits alone would not address the underlying risks children face on social media.

"Rather than framing the issue as a choice between age restrictions and platform oversight, we need to approach it through complementary responsibilities,” Arslan said.

He said children's safety depended not only on who could access platforms but also on how those services operated and determined which content users encountered. He called for independent scrutiny of recommendation algorithms, regular assessments of children's exposure to harmful content, restrictions on commercial profiling and safer default settings for minors.

Arslan said the effectiveness of the new measures should be judged by their impact on children's safety rather than by the number of accounts closed.

"The success of these measures should be assessed by how much they reduce risks to children, rather than simply by the number of accounts closed,” he said.

He also cautioned that tighter oversight should not become indiscriminate content control. Measures against disinformation, he said, must distinguish deliberately misleading material from legitimate criticism, differing opinions and verified information. Decisions should be based on transparent criteria and accompanied by effective avenues for appeal.

Arslan said age-verification mechanisms should avoid collecting excessive personal data, stressing that children's safety must be balanced with their rights to privacy, freedom of expression and access to information.

Safeguarding young digital users

The debate reflects a broader international push to protect younger users. Australia began enforcing a minimum age of 16 for accounts on covered social media platforms on Dec. 10, 2025, requiring companies to take reasonable steps to prevent younger users from holding accounts.

A World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe report found that the proportion of adolescents showing signs of problematic social media use rose from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022. The research covered nearly 280,000 young people aged 11, 13 and 15 across 44 countries and regions in Europe, Central Asia and Canada.

Problematic use refers to difficulties controlling social media use and negative consequences in daily life, rather than simply spending long periods online. The findings do not mean all social media use is harmful, but help explain growing calls for stronger safeguards.

Arslan said schools and families should help children evaluate sources, verify claims and understand why particular content appears in their feeds.

"Türkiye's goal should not be to keep young people entirely away from the digital world, but to ensure that they can participate in it more safely, consciously and with their rights protected,” he said.