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Turkey Moves Toward Limiting Social Media Access for Minors

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Turkey is edging closer to restricting social media access for minors, as a parliamentary report recommends sweeping measures including age verification, content filtering, and potential bans. The proposals align Turkey with a growing global push to tighten controls over children’s online activity amid concerns about addiction, harmful content, and mental wellbeing.

Lawmakers from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party are expected to submit draft legislation soon. Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas has said the bill would include a social media ban for minors and require platforms to implement content-filtering systems. The parliamentary commission also recommended night-time internet restrictions for under-18s, mandatory content filtration until age 18, and a full social media ban until age 16.

The report goes further, urging rapid removal of harmful content without prior notice and monitoring of children’s games and AI-enabled toys. Supporters say the measures are needed to curb digital addiction and protect children from inappropriate material. Critics, including social media companies, warn that weak age-verification tools could undermine bans and push minors toward unregulated platforms.

Turkey already enforces strict online controls, with over 1.2 million web pages and posts blocked by the end of 2024, according to local watchdog IFOD. Platforms face fines of up to 3% of global revenue, ad bans, and bandwidth reductions for non-compliance. Several services—including Roblox, Discord, and Wattpad—have already been banned. As debates intensify, Turkey joins countries like Australia, Spain, France, Britain, and Germany in weighing tougher rules for minors online.

Germany’s CDU Considers Social Media Ban for Under-16s

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Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union is weighing a proposal to bar children under 16 from social media, though coalition partners have signaled reluctance toward a blanket ban. The debate follows similar moves abroad after Australia introduced age-based restrictions, intensifying scrutiny of social media’s effects on young users across Europe.

Dennis Radtke, head of the CDU’s labour wing, said rapid changes in social media have outpaced media literacy, arguing that platforms amplify hate and misinformation. He welcomed the idea of adopting a minimum age, citing the need to protect children. By contrast, the Social Democrats (Social Democratic Party of Germany), the CDU’s centre-left coalition partners, cautioned against an outright prohibition, calling instead for stronger platform-led safeguards, age verification, and limits on aggressive recommendation algorithms for minors.

The issue is set to feature at the CDU’s national conference later this month, following a motion from the party’s Schleswig-Holstein branch proposing a statutory minimum age of 16 with mandatory age checks. The motion reportedly names platforms including TikTok and Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook.

Germany has intensified its focus on online harms, appointing a special commission last year to assess protections for young people. Regulators say issues such as cyberbullying and hate speech are taken seriously, adding that if voluntary measures fail, stricter interventions—including bans—could be considered as a last resort.

EU Charges TikTok Over Addictive App Design Under DSA

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The European Union has charged TikTok with breaching online content rules, accusing the app of using addictive design features that could harm users, particularly minors. The move follows a year-long probe by the European Commission under the Digital Services Act, which empowers regulators to demand changes or impose fines of up to 6% of a company’s global turnover.

Regulators cited features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommendations as mechanisms that encourage compulsive use. The Commission said TikTok failed to adequately assess risks to users’ physical and mental wellbeing and did not implement sufficient safeguards, including effective screen-time controls and parental tools.

TikTok rejected the allegations, calling the preliminary findings false and saying it would challenge them. EU officials said the platform may be required to redesign core elements in Europe, including disabling infinite scroll over time, adding meaningful breaks—especially at night—and adapting its recommender system.

The action underscores the EU’s broader crackdown on Big Tech, with similar DSA charges previously brought against Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram over deceptive interface designs. Regulators are also scrutinizing age-verification systems at Snapchat, YouTube, Apple, and Google as governments debate tougher limits on teen access to social media.