A regulation published in Turkiye's Official Gazette on October 10, 2026 bars children under 15 from social media; from November 1, 2026, age checks run through an e-government token, and existing accounts face review by March 2027.

The October 10, 2026 issue of Turkiye's Official Gazette opened a new chapter in children's online safety: children who have not yet turned 15 can no longer join social networks or use them. The regulation drafted by the Presidency's Cybersecurity Office takes effect on November 1, 2026. According to DonanimHaber, the text appeared in issue 33396 of the Gazette and binds every platform accessible from Turkiye, domestic or foreign.

From springtime parliament to autumn regulation

As Reuters reported in April, parliament had already passed the framework banning social media use for under-15s in the spring; the October regulation works as its implementation manual. The DonanimHaber review of the text notes that all social network providers reachable from Turkiye fall under the rules, with an explicit duty to build age verification infrastructure.

Self-declared ages are over

Under the old order users simply declared their own age; the new system inserts an e-government token into sign-up. When registering, the platform learns only whether the person clears the 15 and 18 thresholds, via a verification token generated through the e-government gateway, while no identity numbers or sensitive records change hands. As T24 emphasizes, only threshold data is processed, and applications found to be under 15 are turned away.

The regulation also sweeps the archive: every existing profile must pass the token check at least once before the end of March 2027. Haberturk cites Article 5, which obliges platforms to have the technical setup ready on that timetable. Accounts found to belong to under-15s will be shut down; per DonanimHaber, user data is permanently erased once appeal avenues are exhausted.

No ban for 15-18s, a sheltered space instead

Teenagers between 15 and 18 stay on the platforms but inside guardrails: private-by-default profiles , no live broadcasting , no personalized ads , and curbs on endless scrolling . Direct messages open only between mutual followers, and follower lists stay hidden from strangers. Families gain mandatory parental control tools covering screen-time limits, settings management, and approval of paid transactions.

Ankara is not alone: the same debate from Sydney to Brussels

Turkiye is acting inside a global wave. ABC reports that Australia launched what is described as the world's first under-16 ban in late 2025, imposing a reasonable-steps duty on platforms backed by fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars. The European Commission's Europa portal page on the KIDS Act proposes no accounts under 13, parent-supervised accounts at 13-14, and independent accounts from 15. In France, a 2023 law had already fixed digital majority at 15; a 2025 question recorded in the French Senate keeps a full under-15 ban on the agenda, citing the fight against cyberbullying.

The real test starts next month: whether platforms get verification infrastructure live by November 1, and whether families adopt a flow that runs through e-government. On paper the balance is ambitious, shielding children from risky content without handing identity data to platforms. The first shutdown and appeal decisions will show whether that balance holds in practice.