Ankara, Turkey. Turkey is moving toward restricting social media access for minors after a parliamentary report recommended broad measures including age verification and content filtering. President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party is expected to submit a draft law on the issue soon.
Parliamentary report and expected draft law
A commission report issued this week calls for measures such as age verification, content filtering, and the removal of content without notice. The recommendations also include monitoring children’s video games or toys with AI functionality for harmful content.
Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas told reporters after a cabinet meeting last month that the bill would include a social media ban for minors and would require service providers to build content-filtering systems.
Proposed limits including night-time restrictions
The parliamentary report recommends night-time internet restrictions for devices used by minors under 18, mandatory content filtration on social media until age 18, and a social media ban until age 16.
“We need to protect our kids from moral erosion. We aim to protect our children from all types of addictions, including digital ones,” Harun Mertoglu, a senior AKP lawmaker and a member of parliament’s human rights enquiry committee, told Reuters.
International context
Australia in December became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking access to platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s GOOGL.O YouTube, and Meta’s META.O Instagram and Facebook.
Spain wants to prohibit social media for under-16s, while Greece and Slovenia are working on a similar ban amid concerns about effects on children’s health and safety. France, Britain and Germany are also considering restrictions for minors.
Parents’ concerns
Some parents said they support tighter controls. Shopkeeper Belma Kececioglu said her 10-year-old spends hours on social media and playing games.
“It is like all the kids are social media addicts. We are already troubled by this and it gets even worse with harmful content,” Kececioglu said, as her son played a game on his phone after school.
What restrictions, if any, do you think should apply to minors’ access to social media?