Turkey’s parliament passed a bill late Wednesday, April 23, 2026, that would ban children under 15 from creating accounts on social media platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. The legislation now awaits approval from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has 15 days to sign it into law.
The bill requires digital platforms to install age-verification systems, provide parental control tools, and respond rapidly to content deemed harmful. Online game companies must also appoint a representative in Turkey to ensure compliance. Penalties for violations include internet bandwidth reductions and fines from Turkey’s communications watchdog.
The legislation’s passage came one week after a 14-year-old boy killed nine students and a teacher at a middle school in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey. Police are investigating the perpetrator’s online activity to determine a motive. Erdogan, speaking in a televised address, called social media platforms “cesspools” that are “corrupting our children’s minds.”
Not everyone supports the measure. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) criticized the bill, arguing that children should be protected “not with bans but with rights-based policies.” Critics may also point to Turkey’s record of restricting online platforms during periods of political dissent — online communications were widely limited during last year’s protests in support of jailed Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Turkey joins a growing number of countries moving to limit children’s access to social media. Australia introduced restrictions for under-16s in December 2025, with platforms revoking approximately 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to minors. Indonesia followed in March 2026, implementing a ban on digital platform access for children under 16 to protect them from pornography, cyberbullying, scams, and addiction.
Source: mint – technology