Türkiye's social media ban for under-15s takes effect
A Cybersecurity Directorate regulation now bars social platforms from serving children under 15, with e-Devlet age tokens and a March 2027 deadline for verifying existing accounts.
Key points
- As of Sunday, November 1, social networks in Türkiye may not serve children who have not turned 15.
- Age checks rely on an e-Devlet token that carries only two facts: whether the user has turned 15 and whether they have reached 18. No personal data is shared with platforms.
- Existing accounts must be verified by March 31, 2027, or they will be closed and their data deleted.
A regulation prepared by the Presidency’s Cybersecurity Directorate took effect on Sunday, November 1, after publication in the Official Gazette. It completely bans social network providers from offering their services in any form to children who have not turned 15.
Details
Platforms must run age checks both at account creation and during ongoing use. Verification does not involve handing personal identity information to the platforms. Instead it runs through a special tool created via the e-Devlet Gate. The token itself is obtained through an online service run by the Cybersecurity Directorate, and it holds only two facts: whether the user has turned 15 and whether they have reached 18. The user’s full name, profile and any data that could let third parties identify them are not included.
Platforms can also re-check users later. If they spot something suspicious during use, they can suspend the account and request a fresh e-Devlet token. New account requests from anyone found to be under 15 must be rejected immediately. Existing accounts get until March 31, 2027. Accounts not verified by that date, or found to belong to under-15s, will be closed and their data deleted.
Users who have turned 15 but not 18 get separate treatment. Platforms must give them a “segregated network service” by default, with privacy settings at the highest level and profiles that cannot be made public. Follower and following lists are visible only to the account holder. Only mutual follows or accounts the user follows can message these accounts, and messages will not show “seen” indicators.
The regulation also blocks addictive features to shield young people from commercial and psychological exploitation. These accounts cannot start live broadcasts, and behavioral or personalized advertising based on profiling is banned. To stop posts, profile photos and images from spreading without permission, platforms must apply technical measures that block screenshots. These accounts cannot be used in guide matching or offered to others as follow suggestions.
Background
Similar moves are on the agenda elsewhere: the European Union is planning to ban social media for children 13 and under, and the United Kingdom will bar users aged 16 and under.
Why it matters
For platform and compliance engineers, this is a concrete integration mandate: age gates tied to a government token service, re-verification flows that can suspend accounts during use, data deletion for non-compliant accounts by March 2027, and enforced technical controls such as screenshot blocking and restrictions on recommendations and profiling for minors.