Turkey will ban social media users aged between 15 and 18 from live streaming and recording their device screens under new child protection regulations, which will come into force on 1 November 2026, as announced by the country’s Minister for Family and Social Services, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, as part of a new set of regulations introduced by the Turkish government that includes a ban on the use of social media by minors under the age of 15 and additional measures such as the end of infinite scrolling.
The minister outlined the new measures planned to restrict minors’ access to digital platforms in comments reported by the Turkish news channel NTV. To prevent the use of these platforms by minors under 15, an age verification system will be implemented via the e-Devlet e-government portal, whilst users aged between 15 and 18 will be subject to other restrictions.
“For example, certain apps will not be permitted. There will be no scrolling or the ability to constantly scroll back, a practice that leads to screen addiction. Furthermore, copying or recording the screen will not be permitted, and they will not be able to start live streams either”, explained Göktaş, referring in the latter case to the 15–18 age group.
New measures to verify users’ ages on social media
The regulations also include restrictions on communications and notifications. Among other measures, only accounts that minors follow will be able to send them messages, and the ‘seen’ notification — which alerts users when a message has been read — will be disabled.
The minister emphasised that this new regulation in Türkiye sets out clearer measures than those adopted in other countries, whilst explaining how the procedure for verifying the age of users wishing to open an account for the first time will work.
“Under the new regulations, users wishing to open an account for the first time on social media platforms will be redirected to the e-Government system to verify their age. The user will receive a digital code confirming their age via the e-Government system. With this code, they will be able to complete the verification process and create an account on the social media platform,” she said.
Verification will not be limited to the moment of registration. Platformsmust continue to verify the age of their users and carry out the necessary checks using their own technological systems whilst providing the service.
“If there is a suspicion that an account is being used by a child under the age of 15, the platform will temporarily suspend the account and redirect the user back to the e-Government system to verify their age,” added Göktaş.
“In this way, a continuous, two-stage age verification mechanism will be implemented, both during account creation and whilst the account is in use, to protect children from the risks of the social media environment,” stated the minister.
Controls to prevent use by under-15s and an end to infinite scrolling
The new system will also incorporate a dual monitoring mechanism to prevent minors from circumventing the restrictions by using their parents’ accounts. “Let’s suppose a child logs in using their father’s or mother’s account. Social media platforms will also be able to redirect users from time to time (to e-Devlet). Therefore, we will monitor this from both sides: them and us,” Göktaş assured.
In this regard, the minister emphasised that the responsibility will not fall solely on technology companies: “We are not going to leave it entirely to social media platforms; we will also monitor it ourselves. The data will be generated entirely through e-Government”.
Göktaş highlighted that the removal of features such as infinite scrolling to continuously view content has been implemented in response to a request from families, who have expressed concern about screen addiction amongst minors.
More parental controls and usage restrictions
The minister stated that Turkish regulations clearly set out the requirements for opening accounts on these platforms. Only users whose age has been verified via the e-Government system and who are at least 15 years old will be permitted to do so.
This means that applications to open accounts on social media platforms submitted by minors whose age is determined to be below this limit will be rejected. Furthermore, platforms will be obliged to provide parents with parental control tools enabling them to monitor the settings of their children’s accounts, limit usage time and block payments made without their prior consent.
The new regulations on social media use will come into force in Turkey on 1 November 2026, although there will be a transition period until 31 March 2027, during which existing accounts must complete age verification to avoid being cancelled. From then on, accounts will be closed for users identified as being under 15 years of age.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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