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If
it becomes law, the bill would force social media platforms to
install age‑verification systems, provide parental control tools
and require companies to rapidly respond to content deemed
harmful. It’s unclear how long the parliament debate will last.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ’s government says the
proposal aims to mitigate the online risks to children’s safety
and privacy.
“Protecting our children from all kinds of risks, threats and
harmful content is our top priority,” Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas,
Turkey's minister for family and social services, said earlier
this year.
The main opposition party — Republican People's Party or CHP —
has criticized the proposal, saying children should be protected
“not with bans but with rights-based policies.”
Under the draft proposal, digital platforms — such as YouTube,
TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and others — would have to block
children under 15 from opening accounts and introduce parental
controls that would manage children's access.
Online game companies will also be required to appoint a
representative in Turkey to ensure they abide by the new
regulations. Potential penalties include internet bandwidth
reductions and fines imposed by Turkey’s communications
watchdog.
The Turkish government has a recent record of restricting online
platforms as they have grown as a means of expressing dissent.
Online communications were widely restricted during last year’s
protests in support of Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor, Ekrem
Imamoglu.
Restrictions on social media access for children under 16 first
began in December in Australia, where social media companies
revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as
belonging to children.
Last month, Indonesia began implementing a new government
regulation banning children younger than 16 from access to
digital platforms that could expose them to pornography,
cyberbullying, online scams and addiction.
Some other countries — including Spain, France and the United
Kingdom — are also taking or considering measures to restrict
children’s access to social media amid growing concern that they
are being harmed by exposure to unregulated social media
content.
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