Turkish parliament bans social media platforms for children under 15

Turkey's parliament has passed a new law banning children under the age of 15 from using social media platforms, reflecting a growing global trend to reduce internet risks to minors. The law, according to Anadolu Agency, prohibits the creation of accounts for this age group, while obliging digital platforms to apply strict age verification systems.

Security and legislative response

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to sign the law introduced by his party, which will come into effect six months after it is published in the Official Gazette.

The legislative move follows a deadly attack on a school in Kahramanmaraş, carried out by a 14-year-old teenager that killed nine people.

Investigations revealed the perpetrator's activity on digital platforms such as Discord, prompting authorities to link digital content to school violence.

The "One Hour" Rule: Immediate and Decisive Intervention

The legislation includes a crucial clause known as the "one-hour rule," which obliges major digital platforms to immediately intervene and remove any content that is harmful or related to an "emergency" within just one hour of being reported.

The move aims to curb the spread of substances that threaten the societal security or psychological well-being of teens, while giving parents sophisticated tools to control screen time and monitor online spending.

 France is leading similar efforts in collaboration with its EU partners (Denmark, Greece, and Spain) to enforce a similar ban.

The moves come after Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for those under the age of 16, while Greece and the European Union are drafting joint recommendations to protect emerging generations from the dangers of the virtual world.