Turkey bans social media for under 15s

People under the age of 15 will not be able to open profiles on social networks, and digital platforms will have to implement age verification systems, Turkish news channel NTV reported.

Parents will have tools to control the time spent in front of the screens, and in “emergency cases”, the main social media platforms will have to intervene within an hour of the spread of harmful content, NTV added.

The law enters into force six months after its publication in the official gazette, reports Anadolu.

Several countries are debating banning access to social networks for 15-year-olds.

French President Emmanuel Macron last week invited young people to a “day without the Internet” every month so they could rediscover reading or sports, that is, “the vitality of real life”, on the eve of a European “coordination” meeting on banning social networks for people under the age of fifteen, AFP reported.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the members of the 12 EU members – Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovenia – discussed last week similar restrictions on children’s access to social networks.