Identity-verified age verification to be introduced for VPNs

Preparations for a new regulation concerning VPN services are on the agenda as part of social media legislation. It is expected that identity-verified age checks for VPNs will be added to the proposal that imposes social media restrictions on children under 15.

Discussions on the proposal, which restricts social media access for those aged 15 and under, are ongoing. Once the proposal is accepted, limitations will be placed on social media usage.

Foreign-based gaming platforms with more than 100,000 daily accesses from Turkey will be required to appoint a representative in Turkey and provide information regarding this representative to the BTK.

According to a report in Milliyet, while discussions on the proposal are underway, the AKP has brought up restrictive measures for VPN (Virtual Private Network) services, which are also used to access content and games restricted in Turkey. It is planned to make e-Government-linked identity-verified age checks mandatory for using VPN service providers, a provision expected to be added to the proposal that restricts social media for children under 15.

AKP officials stated, “With this regulation, we are preventing children under 16 from accessing social media, but we must not ignore the risk that children could continue to use social media via VPNs. Therefore, through a technical regulation, we plan to impose age restrictions on VPN service providers that operate legally.”

News Source: 12punto