Turkey is drafting legislation that would bar children under the age of 15 from using social media platforms as part of a broader bill, local media reported on Tuesday, citing the country’s family and social services minister.
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş announced that the bill would be sent to the relevant parliamentary committee by the end of January.
Under the proposed regulation, social media companies would be prohibited from offering services or allowing account creation for children under 15 and required to implement effective filtering systems to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful content. The aim, she said, is to impose greater responsibility on platforms rather than leaving families to manage the risks alone.
Göktaş said the government has been working on the issue for about a year and a half, consulting experts, academics, civil society organizations, families, children and representatives of social media platforms. She said the authorities cannot remain passive while digital platforms turn children into commercial targets.
The minister framed the proposal as part of a broader child protection policy, citing growing evidence that social media use contributes to depression, anxiety and behavioral disorders among children. She also pointed to security concerns, saying authorities are aware that criminal networks use some platforms to reach minors and push them toward illegal activities.
According to Göktaş, the regulation is intended to function as part of a wider protective framework, ensuring that children can benefit from digital technologies without exposing their mental and emotional well-being to serious risk.
“While our children benefit from digital platforms, we are obliged to protect their minds and emotional well-being,” the minister added.
She also spoke about recent initiatives aimed at improving digital safety, including the launch last month of the “Children Are Safe” website and mobile application. The platform brings together guidance and safe-content services for families and allows users to request emergency assistance with a single button. Authorities also monitor online content round the clock through a dedicated working group.
Göktaş said officials have so far directly intervened in 2,904 harmful pieces of content, referring cases to courts and seeking access bans through the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). She added that the government wants social media companies to act proactively rather than responding only after judicial intervention.
The planned legislation follows earlier efforts to regulate children’s internet use in Turkey, including the 2011 “Safe Internet Service,” which aimed to protect minors from harmful online content. Experts have long criticized those measures as inadequate and have called for more robust and effective safeguards.