Turkey bars under-15s from social networks and orders age checks

Turkey bars under-15s from social networks and orders age checks

10 October 2026: Turkey has published a regulation that stops social network providers serving anyone under 15 and makes age verification mandatory. Every existing account must be verified at least once by 31 March 2027.

Not yet independently verified. We have not read the regulation itself, which is published as an image-only PDF; the Turkish title comes from the Gazette contents list. Article numbers, the issuing body, the size of platform it covers, the in-force date and the penalties are unconfirmed. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

A regulation that implements May's law

The Regulation on Child-Specific Differentiated Services and Age Verification by Social Network Providers (in Turkish, Sosyal Ağ Sağlayıcı Tarafından Çocuklara Özgü Ayrıştırılmış Hizmet Sunulmasına ve Yaş Doğrulamaya İlişkin Yönetmelik) appeared among the regulations in issue 33396 of the Official Gazette, dated 10 October. It implements the law that the Turkish parliament passed in May.

Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş announced it on social media, and TRT Haber reported her statement. The minister's list is the fullest account available so far, and it is the basis of this item.

Checks run through e-Devlet

Age checks go through e-Devlet, the government's online services portal, and the platform does not have to receive the user's identity details. TechJuice adds that the checks only need to establish whether a user meets the minimum age, without unnecessarily confirming who they are.

TRT Haber's headline puts the scope plainly: everyone will have to verify their age. Providers must also make their verification methods, their algorithms and their child protection policies transparent and open to review by users, parents and the Cyber Security Directorate.

What changes for 15 to 18 year olds

Teenagers are not shut out, but the service they get is different. The minister listed these requirements:

• accounts private, with follower and following lists hidden
• no live streaming
• technical measures against screenshots
• limits on designs that encourage addictive behaviour or lengthen time on the platform
• no customisation based on behaviour
• no profiling, and no personalised commercial advertising, using their personal data

Providers must also filter harmful content and set their recommendation systems protectively. TechJuice says services must take account of children's physical, mental, psychological, social and emotional development.

Parents get a control panel

Parents can manage account settings, paid transactions, screen time and location sharing. TechJuice says the tools must be clear and easy to use, which puts the design of the parental dashboard under the regulation as well as the verification step.

Who has work to do before 31 March 2027

Social platforms and apps with users in Turkey must verify their existing accounts before the March deadline, which gives them under six months from publication. Marketing and ad-tech teams that target teenagers there lose behavioural customisation and personalised commercial advertising for the 15 to 18 group. Age-verification vendors will need to work with the e-Devlet route that the regulation names.

Our identity management software category lists seven products and our social media management software category lists 11.

Sanctions are promised but not priced

The minister said the obligations are backed by sanctions. Neither report gives an amount, says which body enforces them, or names the platforms or user numbers that bring a service into scope.

Sources

• TRT Haber: Sosyal medya duzenlemesinde yeni asama, herkes yasini dogrulayacak, 10 October 2026
• TechJuice: Turkey Bans Social Media Access for Children Under 15, 10 October 2026
• Resmi Gazete, issue 33396: contents list, 10 October 2026