Turkey's enforcement regulations for a law restricting social media access for children under 15 were published in the Official Gazette on Saturday, October 10. According to Kayhan, the Presidential Directorate of Cybersecurity's regulation requires social media platforms to provide age-appropriate services and verify users' ages.
Under the new rules, social media networks cannot provide services to minors under 15; the regulation also states that "any service with potential to create addiction in children is prohibited." This regulation details the implementation of the law passed by parliament in April 2026 and published in the Official Gazette as "the Law on Amendments to the Social Services Law and Certain Other Laws" (Law No. 7578); the law takes effect November 1, 2026, six months after the principal law's Official Gazette publication.
Kayhan compares Turkey's move to similar global regulations: in the West, Australia has banned social media access for under-16s since end of 2025; Britain also passed similar legislation, though the law takes effect in spring 2027. France became the first European Union country to ban users under 15; Greece and Denmark are in the process of adopting similar laws. According to Kayhan, Australia's is the strictest and most enforceable example in the West.
According to Jurist, gaming platforms are also covered under the law; companies are required to build the technical infrastructure for age verification. The regulation published October 10 details how these technical requirements will be enforced and which age-verification methods are acceptable; the Presidential Directorate of Cybersecurity expects platforms to complete compliance by the November 1 effective date.
Context
Law No. 7578 passed parliament in April 2026, one week after a 14-year-old student in Kahramanmaraş killed nine classmates and one teacher in a school shooting. According to English-language sources like Jurist and The Next Web, the law requires platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram to prevent users under 15 from opening accounts and provide parental control tools for users ages 15-17; noncompliant platforms face bandwidth restrictions and fines. According to Turkey's statistical institute, more than 66 percent of children under 15 regularly use social media. The opposition Republican People's Party criticized the regulation, arguing that children should be protected through "rights-based policies, not bans"; critics also note that children can circumvent the ban through adult accounts or VPN tools. Kayhan's report frames the issue from a rarely seen Iranian press angle—presenting Turkey's child-protection legislation as part of a global trend rather than a Turkish policy choice; this framing reflects the source's editorial choice, not Farsçadan's assessment. As the regulation takes effect, whether user bases on these platforms will substantially change in Turkey and how enforcement will work in practice remain questions to be clarified in coming months.
