Türkiye is considering draft legislation that would prohibit children under the age of 15 from opening social-media accounts, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş has said.
“We must not allow social-media platforms to treat our children as commercial commodities,” she told reporters after a Cabinet meeting held this week in capital Ankara.
According to Göktaş, a draft omnibus bill—which includes the proposed social-media ban—will be referred to a parliamentary commission for discussion before the end of the month.
She said the draft legislation would oblige certain social-media platforms to block children under 15 from opening accounts.
The proposal also calls for the establishment of filtering systems to ensure that minors are not exposed to potentially harmful content online, Göktaş added.
She asserted that frequent use of social media can lead to depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders among children. She also noted that criminal gangs had used social-media platforms to lure minors into criminal activity.
“In this context, the [proposed] regulation can be viewed as a means of protecting children,” the minister said.
She added that her ministry has been discussing the issue for the past year and a half in conjunction with experts, academics, and civil society organisations, along with families and children themselves.
Last year, Australia became the first country to ban the use of social-media platforms—including X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram—by children under the age of 16.
Following Australia’s lead, a number of other countries are currently mulling the imposition of stricter regulations on social-media use by minors.
Last November, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding recommendation to restrict access to certain platforms by children under 16.
Göktaş said children should be able to benefit from the opportunities afforded by digital platforms. But she also stressed the state’s responsibility to safeguard their mental and emotional well-being.
“Our children are the guarantee of our future,” she said. “Protecting them from all kinds of risks, threats, and harmful content is our top priority.”
A major bridge across the Dnipro river in Kyiv was hit in a Russian air attack on Saturday, the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko said, as strikes...
Hammam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound flight on ...
Convicted murderer Christa Pike remains in critical condition after Tennessee's failed attempt to execute her by lethal injection, according to...
Yemen's air force carried out 20 strikes on Houthi targets earlier on Friday, Brigadier General Majid Abdullah Al-Nuzaili, Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis denied targeting a power plant supplying energy to a mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Azerbaijan and Armenia will sign a final peace agreement once Armenia amends its constitution to remove territorial claims against Azerbaijan, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, has said.
Ukraine is working to resolve a diplomatic dispute with South Korea after Kyiv publicly disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Thursday, 1 October.
Hammam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday in a suspected terrorist attack, was banned from flying by Oman over concerns about his radical views, U.S. media reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
British counter-terrorism police have arrested a 27-year-old dual UK-Iranian national as part of an investigation into a suspected plot involving RAF Fairford, an airbase used by U.S. forces for operations against Iran.
A major bridge across the Dnipro river in Kyiv was hit in a Russian air attack on Saturday, the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko said, as strikes on the capital's infrastructure continue.
Hammam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday in a suspected terrorist attack, was banned from flying by Oman over concerns about his radical views, U.S. media reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A U.S. federal appeals court has temporarily halted Minnesota’s ban on AI-generated fake nude images after Elon Musk’s xAI challenged the law as unconstitutional.
Two Iranian nationals have been charged in Britain with preparing a suspected terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community in northern England, police said on Friday (2 October).
The United States suspended consular services at its embassy and consulates in Brazil on Friday over unspecified security concerns, prompting Australia to close its embassy in Brasília two days before the country's presidential election.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment