Turkey seeks to restrict young people’s social media access

• Applies to people under 15
• 5m users could be affected
• Implications for advertising

Young Turks under the age of 15 will be blocked from accessing social media platforms under new legislation being drafted by the government, though some are sceptical that the proposed measures will be effective. 

Draft legislation will be tabled before the parliament by the end of January, family and social services minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş said this week. 

Under the proposed regulations, social media platforms will have clearly defined responsibilities, and face consequences – including fines and service bans that have yet to be determined – if they fail to meet requirements, the minister said. 

If passed, the ban has implications for advertising and the business models of social media platforms in Turkey.

More than 66 percent of Turkish children under the age of 15 regularly access social media, according to state statistics agency Turkstat. Facebook, TikTok and Instagram are the most commonly used platforms. 

The minister said studies showed social media can cause depression, anxiety and behavioural disorders in children while also exposing them to criminal elements. 

“We must not allow social media platforms to use our children as a commercial commodity,” Göktaş told reporters. “We cannot remain spectators to this situation.

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Said Ercan, president of the International Social Media Association, however said he did not believe that the proposed legislation will have a major impact on young people’s social media usage. 

He said there are 5 million users under the age of 15 on social media in Turkey. “I believe the new law may result in a fall of just 10 percent, 500,000 users, getting out.”

Ercan said a more nuanced approach should be adopted rather than a blanket ban. Platforms such as Facebook, which is widely used by families in Turkey, should be kept accessible to younger users, he said, but other services such as TikTok should be restricted. 

“The problem will be that parents are less digitally educated in Turkey and youth are more talented,” he said.