Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Uraloğlu explains the legal process regarding Roblox and Discord

Uraloğlu was a guest on a live broadcast on CNN Türk. Discussing social media regulations, Uraloğlu made statements regarding the Roblox and Discord platforms.

Minister Uraloğlu stated, "A dialogue process is underway; if we reach the right point in that sense, it may be possible for them to be reopened as a result of the legal process."

Here are the highlights from Uraloğlu's statements:

THE PLANE CRASH IN THE US

"I don't remember the exact date, but these plane crashes came one after another, coinciding with a crash in Japan where an emergency rescue plane entered the runway. Plane crashes have entered the world public agenda quite a lot. The necessary investigations will be conducted and the reason for this will be explained by the United States.

But what we hope for is that when air traffic control or the tower gives a plane clearance for approach and landing, it means that the airspace is clear. No other aircraft should be moving there. Is seeing the plane a sufficient announcement? The helicopter should have been removed from there immediately because the plane's maneuverability is not very high.

There should not have been a helicopter or any other aircraft in the corridor where the plane was approaching. Why did it enter there and why was it not removed? There is definitely a mistake here. Detailed investigations will reveal how much of this mistake belongs to whom. So far, thank God, we have not had a problem in this sense that would be debated in the Turkish public or the world public. But we must definitely inspect these areas and ensure the necessary training is provided, which we are doing.

IS AN AGE LIMIT COMING TO SOCIAL MEDIA?

There are many applications regarding this in the world. From the most developed country to others, the reflex is this: at what age can an individual, from birth, understand and question the events they encounter more objectively? For example, when you look at it, we have set certain age barriers, such as the marriage age being 18 and the driving license age being 17. Then, our children must reach an age of maturity that allows them to make their own decisions based on objective criteria. We want our young people and children under the age of 16 not to enter social media. Why? Because there is not much they will truly benefit from there. Especially given some events we have experienced in our recent history in Turkey, it gives us some signals as to why this should be the case. Hopefully, we have an effort and work to make certain regulations within 2025.

'ROBLOX AND DISCORD MAY BE OPENED'

(Discord and Roblox) They are not exactly social media platforms. It is not that we want to block useful games that a child should play, but it will be more about social media usage. That is, children will not be able to open an account there. For example, in some countries, parental permission is requested; we are not thinking about that much.

We want our children under the age of 16 not to enter social media. The gaming platform did not have a representative in Turkey; they contacted us as a result of the sanctions we imposed on them with court orders.

We think that if there is useful content on a platform, they should remove the harmful parts, and we can continue with the useful ones. A dialogue process is underway; if we reach the right point in that sense, it may be possible for them to be reopened as a result of the legal process."