Latest development on social media age limit: Statement from Minister Uraloğlu

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu made important statements regarding the age limit to be applied to social media platforms during a live broadcast on NTV. The Minister explained the details regarding what the age limit will be and how user age will be determined.

SOCIAL MEDIA AGE LIMIT TO BE IMPLEMENTED THIS YEAR

Minister Uraloğlu stated that the regulation for introducing an age limit on social media platforms will be completed within this year and the proposal will be submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

WHAT WILL THE AGE LIMIT BE?

Minister Uraloğlu announced that the age limit has been set to cover those aged 16 and under. Stating that the age limit will be proposed as 16 in the bill to be submitted to the TBMM, the Minister expressed that the final decision will be made by the TBMM Commission and the General Assembly. Unless a contrary decision is made by the Parliament, social media use by children under 16 will be prohibited.

HOW WILL THE USER'S AGE BE DETECTED?

It has been explained how the age limit on social media will be determined. Social media platforms will not request any personal information from the user to verify age. Instead, using artificial intelligence and algorithms, the user's age will be determined based on their activities and posts on the platform. If it is determined that the user is under 16, access to the platform will be blocked.

Minister Uraloğlu made the following statement regarding the matter:

“We will not foresee the sharing of any personal information; on the contrary, we will impose a barrier to the sharing of personal information. We will impose a ban on the sharing of personal information. There is artificial intelligence, all kinds of algorithms… We are thinking of giving this responsibility directly to the social media platform. It will detect it itself based on the person's usage and the photos they share. And it will say to them: You are under 16, I do not allow this.”

News Source: 12punto