News (The Pak Global Pakistan):
ISTANBUL: Turkey is preparing to tighten restrictions on social media access for children and teenagers, as a new parliamentary report calls for sweeping measures to protect minors from harmful online content.
According to the report released this week, authorities are considering age-verification systems, mandatory content filtering, and limits on social media use for young people. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is expected to submit draft legislation soon.
Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas has said the proposed bill would include a social media ban for minors and require platforms to install content-filtering mechanisms. The report also recommends removing harmful content without prior notice and monitoring children’s video games and AI-enabled toys for inappropriate material.
Turkey’s move follows similar steps by other countries. Australia recently became the first nation to ban social media for children under 16, while Spain, Greece, and Slovenia are working on comparable measures. France, Britain, and Germany are also weighing restrictions for minors.
The Turkish parliamentary report further suggests night-time internet limits for devices used by those under 18, mandatory content filtering until the age of 18, and a complete social media ban for users under 16.
“We need to protect our children from moral erosion and all forms of addiction, including digital addiction,” said Harun Mertoglu, a senior AK Party lawmaker and member of parliament’s human rights inquiry committee.
Many parents support stricter rules. Belma Kececioglu, a shopkeeper, said her 10-year-old spends long hours on social media and mobile games. “Children are becoming addicted to social media, and harmful content makes the situation worse,” she said.
However, social media companies have raised concerns that bans could be ineffective due to weak age-verification technology and might push children towards unregulated online platforms.
Turkey already enforces strict regulations on digital platforms and frequently orders content removals and access bans. By the end of 2024, access to around 1.2 million web pages and social media posts had been blocked, according to local digital rights group IFOD.
Under existing laws, social media companies must act on official or user complaints within two days and comply with most takedown requests. Firms that fail to follow regulations can face advertising bans, reduced bandwidth, and fines of up to three per cent of their global revenue.
Several platforms, including gaming service Roblox, messaging app Discord, and story-sharing site Wattpad, have been banned in Turkey since 2024. Wikipedia was also previously blocked in the country for nearly three years.