Turkey joins global push to limit youth social media

ANKARA: Turkey’s parliament voted on Wednesday to block children under 15 from accessing social media platforms, state-run Anadolu news agency reported, the latest country to attempt such a ban.

Under the law, those under 15 would be banned from creating accounts on social media, while digital platforms would be forced to put in place age verification systems, Turkish news broadcaster NTV reported.

The vote follows similar restrictions and proposals to limit the harms of internet use for young people, including Australia’s historic move to restrict social media to those over 16.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to sign the law, which was introduced by his party.

The law will take effect six months after it is published in the official gazette.

NTV said that if an “emergency” is notified, major social media platforms would be required to intervene within an hour of harmful content being posted online.

In addition to Turkey, France is pushing for action alongside EU partners including Denmark, Greece and Spain — with the French parliament now hotly debating whether to allow under-15s to work.

In December, Australia became the first country to ban under-16s from using the hugely popular and lucrative social media platform.

Greece has since said it will ban social media for under-15s, while the EU said an expert group would begin drawing up recommendations for action across the bloc.