The Turkiye under-15 social media ban takes formal effect on November 1, after the country’s official state journal published the decision on Saturday. The move completes a process that began when parliament adopted the law in April.
Under the new rules, social media providers must “take the necessary technical and administrative measures, including age verification, to implement” protections for young people. The law states plainly: “No service likely to produce an addictive effect in children may be offered.”
Turkiye under-15 social media ban: how it will work
Age verification will run through e-Devlet, Turkiye’s government services portal, without disclosing users’ personal data to the platforms. Social media companies must complete age verification for existing accounts by March 31, 2027. Accounts belonging to users under 15 will be closed.
Teenagers aged 15 and above will get a special protected mode. Their accounts will switch automatically to private settings, and they will be barred from hosting live streams, receiving targeted advertising and getting messages from strangers.
The legislation also reaches beyond standard social media. Game software platforms must classify games by age, and foreign gaming platforms with more than 100,000 daily users in Turkiye must appoint a local representative. Platforms must also provide parental-control tools covering account settings, purchases, subscriptions and limits on screen time.
The stated aim is to shield children from digital risks including screen addiction, sleep deprivation, bullying and eating disorders.
A growing global trend
Turkiye joins a growing list of countries legislating to protect teenagers from online harms. Australia has introduced restrictions on social media for under-16s, while Britain and France are pushing similar measures.
The debate over children’s online safety has intensified worldwide. Pakistan has seen its own proposals, including a suggested ban for children under 13, and Britain’s under-16 ban announcement drew wide attention earlier this year. Regulators in Pakistan have also weighed age verification for young users, while governments elsewhere have expanded social media screening in other contexts.
Rights groups have raised concerns about the Turkish law’s wider context. They point to existing freedom-of-expression restrictions in Turkiye targeting LGBTQ communities, the media and the political opposition, and note that numerous social media accounts were blocked in recent weeks.
Enforcement will fall largely on the platforms themselves, backed by sanctions including bandwidth throttling and fines by the communications authority for non-compliance. Experience with age-gating elsewhere suggests children may try to get around the rules with false birthdates or shared accounts, so the real test will be how strictly the verification system is applied.
Frequently asked questions
When does Turkiye’s under-15 social media ban start?
The ban takes effect on November 1, 2026. The regulation was published in the official state journal on October 10, following parliament’s adoption of the law in April.
How will ages be verified?
Verification will run through e-Devlet, Turkiye’s government services portal, without revealing users’ personal data to social media companies. Platforms must finish verifying existing accounts by March 31, 2027.
What happens to under-15 accounts?
Accounts belonging to users under 15 will be closed. Users aged 15 and above move into a protected mode with private settings by default, no live streaming, no targeted ads and no messages from strangers.
Which other countries have similar bans?
Australia has introduced under-16 restrictions, and Britain and France are pursuing similar measures. Turkiye’s threshold of 15 sits between Pakistan’s proposed under-13 limit and the under-16 models elsewhere.
