Turkey has formally banned social media use by children under 15, with the restrictions taking effect on 1 November.
The decision was published in the official state journal on Saturday 10 October, following the passage of a law by parliament in April, the Daily Mirror reported, carrying a Times of India report.
What the law requires
Social media providers must introduce safeguards to protect young users, including age-verification measures. The legislation requires platforms to “take the necessary technical and administrative measures, including age verification, to implement” protections for children.
It also states that “no service likely to produce an addictive effect in children may be offered” — a provision aimed at platform design rather than content alone, and therefore at recommendation feeds, autoplay and similar retention features.
The wider pattern
Turkey’s move follows a run of government efforts internationally to limit children’s exposure to online content and platform mechanics. Governments backing such restrictions have cited screen addiction, sleep deprivation, online bullying and eating disorders among young people.
The restrictions arrive against a contested domestic backdrop. Rights groups have raised concerns about freedom of expression in Turkey, particularly in relation to LGBTQ communities, the media and the political opposition — context the filing notes alongside the child-protection rationale.
Not reported
The filing does not say how age verification is to be carried out in practice, what penalties apply to platforms that fail to comply, or which regulator will enforce the rules. It does not say whether the ban covers all platforms or a defined list, how existing accounts held by under-15s will be handled, or whether any platform has said it will comply. It carries no comment from the Turkish government, from any affected company, or from the rights groups whose concerns it references.
The Daily Mirror is carrying a Times of India report rather than its own reporting. This desk found no second verified Sri Lankan or international newsroom filing on the state-journal publication at the time of writing, so the account rests on that single relayed source.
