03.04.2026 15:47
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek spoke about the social media regulation in the 12th Judicial Package. Minister Gürlek stated, "People will enter social media with their personal identities. We have already reached an agreement with social media providers on this matter. They have accepted it as well. Within a 3-month period, everyone will be using their real identities on social media."
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek attended the launch program of the TÜGVA Specialization Academy 26 in Diyarbakır. Minister Gürlek spoke about the social media regulation in the 12th Judicial Package here. Gürlek stated that everyone would enter social media with an identity within 3 months.
"IF A PERSON COMMITS A CRIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, THERE SHOULD BE CONSEQUENCES" Responding to students' questions, Minister Gürlek addressed the issue of fake accounts on social media, continuing his speech as follows:
"There is character assassination happening. Here, we probably have our members of parliament, our governor, our rector. This is done to everyone. If a person opens an account on social media and commits a crime, there must be consequences. We want this. We want social media to have a law, a rule. In other words, if a person opens an account, they should bear the responsibility. Now they are opening fake accounts. They are narrating events differently. We have many colleagues here. We have judges and prosecutors. In other words, trials are being conducted on social media, decisions are being made, judgments are being given. It is really not like that. If a person insults or commits character assassination on social media, they must face the consequences.
"NO ONE WILL BE ASSASSINATED HERE" Inshallah, we will give this a legal identity in the 12th judicial package. In other words, if a person enters social media, their identity will be clear. They will be held responsible for what they write, for the insults they make, and for the character assassinations. No one will be assassinated here. No one will be discredited. Here, we have very valuable judges. They selflessly dedicate their nights and days, sometimes sacrificing from their families, to look at the files. But on social media, they do something that they have no knowledge of the files. A person has given a judgment, conducted a trial. Why was this service left? Why was this person not arrested? Such things are initiated on social media. Inshallah, I attach great importance to this social media site.
"EVERYONE WILL ENTER SOCIAL MEDIA WITH AN IDENTITY IN 3 MONTHS" I have already announced this as a commitment to the public from time to time. In other words, from now on, people will enter social media with their real personal identities. We have already reached an agreement with social media providers on this matter. They have accepted this as well. There will also be a TC identity. Of course, there will be a transition period. In other words, there will be a transition period for the closure of fake accounts. That is, there will be a transition period for accounts that do not use their real identities or what we call bot accounts to be closed. If they do not comply with these rules, social media platforms will close them. We are preparing the package and presenting it to the parliament. Inshallah, our members of parliament in the parliament also attach great importance to this issue. It needs to be legalized in a short time. After it is legalized, there will be a transition period because the infrastructure needs to be established. Within 3 months, everyone will have entered social media with their real identities."
"I WANT YOUNG PEOPLE NOT TO IMITATE INFLUENCERS AND YOUTUBERS" In response to another student's question about social media, Minister Gürlek said, "A world is being portrayed on social media that is not real. We used to serve as chief public prosecutors in Istanbul. The lives of those friends are all lies. The series broadcasted there, influencers, and youtubers portray glamorous lives, but such a life does not exist. I want young people not to imitate these. We have had the opportunity to handle many cases. We have had the opportunity to conduct drug operations. These were God's will. We performed our duty in this way. I want young people not to be influenced by these. What is portrayed on social media does not exist in the real world. As I said, our labor force has developed in every sense. It has developed significantly in terms of education as well. As you know, Turkey has turned into a game-changing model. We are making our own defense. We are producing domestic weapons. Our engineers have developed significantly. Our scientists have developed. I advise our young people not to fall for the lies on social media. There is a lie there. There is no reality there. There is imitation, but there is no real life like that. Here, Diyarbakır is a vibrant city. Istanbul is our pride. Go and explore these places, but as I said, let’s not lose touch with the realities of our country and the traditions of our country. We have seen the West here. The West is always two-faced. There is a war next to them. There is the Ukraine-Russia war. They do not intervene. They only think that they should not be harmed. As a nation, we have always stood by the oppressed throughout history. Look, our President has always expressed his support for Gaza in every environment. He has expressed this to world leaders. I want to emphasize this particularly," he replied.
"MY ADVICE TO YOU IS TO LIVE YOUR STUDENT LIFE TO THE FULLEST" Minister Gürlek said, "I graduated in 2005. We also went through student years like you. We lived our student life to the fullest. My advice to you is to live your student life to the fullest as well. TÜGVA is really signing very beautiful projects, I am following them. We did not have this many privileges in our time. There were state dormitories, especially the opportunities provided by TÜGVA, dormitories, scholarships, loans, there are many opportunities now. Our state has really invested a lot in students, especially since the AK Party government came to power. As I said, students are lucky now. They need to live life, not just study. They need to contribute to their futures. They need to find an activity for themselves. They need to participate in cultural activities. Diyarbakır is a living city in this regard, a historical city, a city with a heart, where they can easily access all kinds of opportunities," he said.
"A JUDGE DOES NOT ONLY DECIDE BASED ON EVIDENCE, MORAL CONVICTION IS ALSO IMPORTANT" In response to a student's question, "Making legal decisions under public pressure is a very fine line. What do you think about that line? Especially for students who will walk this path, what should they pay attention to when making this decision? What should be done on that fine line?" Minister Gürlek said, "Now, being a lawyer is really a very difficult profession.
When you enter law school, you really see how valuable the law is. Law exists in every area of life. That means it is present in your daily life as well. It is also there when you start your profession later. My advice to friends regarding law is this: you can definitely access laws and books. What is important is to find this legal reasoning and listen to your conscience. This should be our top priority. A judge does not make decisions solely based on the law; they do not make decisions solely based on the evidence in the file. Sufficient conviction must also come from their moral judgment," he replied.