Turkey to restrict social media access for children under 15

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Turkey’s parliament has approved a draft law (RUU) prohibiting all children under 15 from using social media. Citing Engadget on Thursday (23/4) local time, social media platforms will be required to implement age verification systems, provide parental control features, and respond more quickly to harmful content uploaded to their services. The bill was drafted following two deadly school shootings in Turkey. After those incidents, police arrested 162 people accused of spreading recordings of the tragedy on the internet. The bill now awaits approval from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan within 15 days to officially become law. Previously, Erdoğan described social media platforms as “piles of filth” in a nationally broadcast speech. Turkey has previously clashed several times with global digital platforms. Instagram was blocked in 2024 over a dispute regarding content related to Hamas, though access was restored about a week later. During the same period, Turkey also banned Roblox after reports emerged of inappropriate sexual content potentially exploiting children. A Turkish official at the time also cited the promotion of homosexuality as one of the reasons for banning the game. The Turkish government has also temporarily blocked X on several occasions, including after the major earthquake that struck the country in 2023. Turkey’s move to ban children under 15 from accessing social media aligns with a global trend. Several countries, such as Greece and Austria, have introduced similar policies, following Australia, which last year became the first country to ban children under 16 from using social media. The UK is also considering stricter rules.