A new era for children under 15 on social media platforms begins on November 1. With the regulation published in the Official Gazette on October 10, new obligations were imposed on platforms to perform age verification and protect child users.
According to the regulation, social media platforms will not be able to provide services to children who have not reached the age of 15. Users who want to open an account for the first time will perform age verification via e-Devlet; requests to open accounts from those determined to be under 15 will be rejected.
DEADLINE FOR EXISTING ACCOUNTS IS MARCH 31, 2027
The new rules will not be limited to new account applications. Age verification procedures for existing accounts must be completed by March 31, 2027, at the latest. During this process, the existing accounts of users determined to be under 15 will be closed.
During the age verification process, the user will create a digital token via the Cyber Security Presidency's service after logging into e-Devlet. This token will be transmitted to the social media platform, and the platform will verify the user's age group after checking its validity.
The token will only contain information on whether the user has reached the age of 15 and, if they have, whether they have reached the age of 18. If the user is under 15, they will not be able to open an account; if they are in the 15-17 age group, they will be able to use the platform under rules specific to children.
Accounts of children who have reached the age of 15 will be private by default. Live streaming and personalized advertising will be prohibited on these accounts. Presenting content to children via infinite scrolling will also not be permitted.
Under the regulation, children will only be able to receive messages from accounts they follow. Other users will not be able to see the follower and following lists of child accounts. According to a previous statement by Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, platforms will be able to temporarily suspend profiles suspected of being child accounts and direct them to re-verify their age.
News Source: 12punto
