The ruling Justice and Development Party submitted the draft bill to parliament on March 4 under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The proposal follows similar steps taken or considered by countries including Australia and several European nations, amid rising concerns about the impact of social media on children’s wellbeing and safety.
Under the bill, social media companies would be required to implement age-verification systems and provide parental control tools to enhance child protection online. Users over 15 would have access to separate, safer digital services, while harmful content would need to be removed within one hour in emergency cases.
Companies failing to comply could face penalties of up to 3% of their global revenue or restrictions on bandwidth access. Foreign online game distributors would also be subject to new rules, including mandatory age ratings for games.
Leyla Sahin Usta, deputy head of the AK Party’s parliamentary group, said platforms would be given six months to meet the new requirements if the law is passed.
Turkey already maintains strict oversight of social media firms and frequently orders content removals and access bans. According to local censorship monitor IFOD, access is currently blocked to around 1.2 million web pages and social media posts.
