The social media age verification regulation prepared by the Cyber Security Presidency was published in the Official Gazette. This regulation stands out as a new social media age verification regulation covering all domestic and foreign social network providers accessible from Turkey.
While the regulation prevents children under the age of 15 from using social media, it imposes various privacy and content restrictions for the 15-18 age group. It is becoming mandatory for platforms to offer parental control tools and perform age verification through e-Government.
Age Verification and E-Government Integration
The regulation, published in the Official Gazette dated October 10, 2026 and numbered 33396, determines age verification processes as well as services for children. Social network providers will not be able to provide services to children under the age of 15.
Protection of personal data is taken as a basis during age verification. Instead of identification, only methods that enable the determination of the relevant age limit will be used.
Users will upload the age verification token created through the e-Government Gateway to the relevant platform. The token will be created through the online service offered by the Cyber Security Presidency.
This token will only contain information whether the user has reached the age of 15 or 18. The user's exact age or information that could reveal their identity to third parties will not be included in the token.
Platforms will also implement single-stage or layered age verification methods of their own choosing while the service continues. If there is suspicion that an account is being used outside the verified age range, the account will be suspended.
Re-verification with an age verification token will be required before the account can be used again. Requests to open a new account from people who are determined to be under 15 years of age will be rejected.
New Rules for the 15-18 Age Group
Social network providers will have to take into account the physical and psychological development of the child in the content and advertisements they offer to users aged 15-18. It is required that measures be taken to reduce the risks of sexual abuse and commercial exploitation.
To protect these users' personal data, high-level privacy settings will be enabled by default. Data processing activities will be kept to a minimum.
Services that may cause addiction in children's accounts will not be allowed. Accounts will be kept private by default and there will be no option to convert to a public account.
Follower and followed account information in children's posts will only be visible to the account owner. Only accounts that the user follows will be able to send messages to child accounts.
The seen information will not be displayed in messages and the accounts that children can communicate with will be limited. Platforms will not be able to match children's accounts with phone books or friend lists in other applications.
Children's accounts will not be offered as follow-up suggestions to other users. Technical measures will be implemented to prevent screenshots for profile photos and posts.
There will be no live broadcast feature on child accounts. Additionally, personal data cannot be used in profiling or personalized commercial advertising activities.
Parental control tools will allow account settings to be managed. Actions such as purchases and paid memberships may be subject to parental approval.
Existing Accounts and Sanctions
The regulation covers all platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitch, Kick, Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Medium and Reddit. The provisions of Law No. 5651 will be applied to platforms that do not comply with the rules.
Before sanctions are imposed, the social network provider will be notified of the non-compliance and given a reasonable period of time to remedy it. The severity of the violation and the number of children affected will be taken into account in determining sanctions.
Social network providers will create a free appeal system against the age verification result or account suspension. Applications will be evaluated by human review, not by fully automated systems.
The age verification process for existing accounts will be completed by March 31, 2027. What do you think about this new regulation that will come into force on November 1, 2026?
