Turkey social media ban: under-15s barred from platforms from 1 November

What Turkey's new social media rules mean for under-15s

Turkey will officially ban children under 15 from maintaining social media accounts starting 1 November, enforcing the restriction through the country’s central online government portal.

Published in the Official Gazette on Saturday, the regulations drafted by the Cybersecurity Presidency give tech companies until 31 March 2027 to verify the ages of all existing account holders or close non-compliant accounts.

How the e-Devlet age-verification system will work

To verify user ages, social media platforms must link registration to e-Devlet, Turkey’s digital government services portal. When a person attempts to open an account, e-Devlet will generate a digital token that confirms only whether the user meets the 15- or 18-year age threshold. The token does not pass full identity details or personal data to the tech companies, and platforms are forbidden from using the data for any other purpose.

Requests to open accounts from anyone under 15 will be rejected automatically. Where a platform has reasonable suspicion that an existing account belongs to someone under 15, it must suspend the account until age verification is completed.

Privacy and design limits for 15 to 17-year-olds

For teenagers aged 15 to 17, social media will look significantly different. The regulation requires accounts for this age group to be set to private by default, with follower and following lists completely hidden from other users. Teens will only be able to receive direct messages from accounts they already follow, and read receipts will be disabled.

Platforms must also remove features designed to encourage prolonged screen time. Infinite scrolling feeds, autoplay videos, livestreaming, and behavioural ad profiling are all banned on teen accounts. Tech firms are further required to implement technical safeguards that block users from taking screenshots of teenagers' profile photos and posts.

Enforcement, parental controls and rights concerns

Social media providers must supply parental control tools that allow parents to set screen time limits, manage account settings, and approve purchases. Platforms are also required to offer a free, accessible appeals process in Turkish for account suspensions, which must involve human review rather than automated systems.

Companies that fail to comply will receive a formal notification and a grace period to address breaches before penalties are assessed based on the severity, duration, and number of children affected.

The regulation follows legislation passed by parliament in April. While Turkish authorities presented the rules as a measure against screen addiction, cyberbullying, and sleep disruption, rights groups have raised concerns regarding online expression in Turkey, where digital platforms face frequent legal scrutiny.