13.10.2026 13:04
Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş explained the details of the social media regulation for children that will enter into force on November 1. On social media, only those who verify through e-Government that they have reached the age of 15 will be able to open an account. For users between the ages of 15 and 18, there will be no screen scrolling feature, screen recording will not be possible, and live broadcasts cannot be started. The compliance process will continue until March 31, 2027.
Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, regarding the social media regulation for children, said: “There are important points between the ages of 15 and 18. For example, some applications will not be available. ‘Screen scrolling’ and ‘continuous scrolling back to the top,’ which create an element of screen addiction, will not be available. In addition, screen copying, that is, ‘screen recording,’ will not be possible, and they will not be able to go live.”
Göktaş answered journalists’ questions after the Cabinet Meeting held at the Presidential Complex under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
THOSE UNDER 15 WILL NOT BE ABLE TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT
Stating that everything is clearly set out in the regulation regarding social media regulation for children, Göktaş said that on social media, only users who verify through e-Government that they have turned 15 will be able to open an account.
Göktaş, stating that under the regulation there will be a compliance process with a temporary provision until March 31, 2027, said: “After this date, we will now switch to the verification system. After that, they will be able to log in with the ‘tokens’ we provide. There are important points between the ages of 15 and 18. For example, some applications will not be available. ‘Screen scrolling’ and ‘continuous scrolling back to the top,’ which create an element of screen addiction, will not be available. In addition, screen copying, that is, ‘screen recording,’ will not be possible, and they will not be able to go live. Furthermore, regulations such as ‘only accounts the child follows can send messages to the child’ and ‘disabling read receipts’ have been introduced.”
Expressing that with the regulation they will have protected children up to the age of 18 from the social media environment, Göktaş noted that the regulation is clearer than those of other countries.
TWO-STEP VERIFICATION AT ACCOUNT OPENING AND DURING USE
Emphasizing that Turkey has a strong system such as e-Government, Göktaş noted the following:
“According to the new regulation, users who want to open an account on social media platforms for the first time will be directed to the e-Government system for age verification. The user will receive a digital code from e-Government that verifies information about their age. Through this code, they will be able to complete the age verification process and create an account on the social media platform. Age verification will not be limited only to account opening. While providing services, social media platforms will continue to estimate users’ ages with their own technological methods and carry out the necessary checks.
If there is suspicion that an account is being used by a child under the age of 15, the platform will temporarily suspend that account and direct the user to perform age verification again via e-Government. Thus, in order to protect children from risks in the social media environment, a two-stage and continuous age verification mechanism will be implemented both at account opening and during use.”
CHILDREN WILL NOT BE CONSTANTLY EXPOSED TO ADVERTISING
Minister Göktaş also stated that there will be a two-way control mechanism in the regulation, and said: “Suppose a child logs in with their father’s or mother’s account. Social media platforms will also be able to redirect from time to time. That is, on one hand they will control, and on the other hand we will control. Our aim here is to ensure maximum control. We are not leaving it solely to social media platforms; we ourselves are checking. The data will be created entirely through e-Government.”
Drawing attention to the fact that the removal of features such as “continuous scrolling back to the top” and “screen scrolling,” which create screen addiction in children, is a demand of families, Göktaş continued as follows:
“It will enter into force as of November 1, but of course we are going through a compliance process. We are also granting a compliance process with a temporary provision until March 31, 2027. We have carried out rigorous information activities with these social media platforms. Our aim here is to protect children and especially to distance them from structures that create addiction. At the design stage, we want to create a ‘child-friendly ecosystem’ structure. Because at the very beginning, this screen scrolling did not exist. They were developed later. There was no scrolling back to the top, for example algorithms... Children not being constantly exposed to advertising is also part of our regulation.”
RESPONSE TO ÖZLALE’S CLAIM
Minister Göktaş also used the following statements regarding the claim made against her by İzmir MP Ümit Özlale of the New Party concerning the fund investigation:
“They ask, ‘How did you reach this information so quickly?’ Ümit Özlale, at a press conference, gave a file number and slandered that it belonged to my father. I was able only through the file number he disclosed to confirm whether the file belonged to my father or not. The real question that should be asked is this: while I can access only limited information even to verify a claim concerning my family, where and how did they reach this information, even down to the numbers of investigation files? How did they access information that I could not access?”