Turkish MPs Back Social Media Ban For Under-15s

 ISTANBUL, April 23 (Bernama-dpa) -- Turkish lawmakers have voted in favour of banning teenagers under the age of 15 from accessing social media, following in the footsteps of Australia which introduced landmark restrictions on social media use last year, German Press Agency (dpa) reported, citing local media.

The proposal, backed by lawmakers in Ankara on Wednesday evening, still needs to be signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before it is set to come into force in six months, according to state news agency Anadolu.

Under the law, social media platforms are to be barred from offering their services to users under the age of 15, according to the agency.

They will also be obliged to introduce age verification tools and control mechanisms for parents.

Platforms which are accessed in Turkiye more than 10 million times a day will also be required to comply with official orders within an hour in urgent cases.

They must prevent deleted or blocked content from being republished on their platform, with violations resulting in potential fines and a reduction in internet bandwidth.

Turkiye's CHP party, the country's largest opposition group, has rejected the move and has vowed to fight against it. CHP lawmaker Gökhan Günaydin accused the government of using children's wellbeing as a pretext for introducing further restrictions.

The social media ban for children and teenagers echoes a similar move by Australia, which became the first country to restrict social media access for under 16s in December.

The move ignited similar debates across the globe, amid increasing concerns about the effects of social media on children's mental and emotional wellbeing.

-- BERNAMA-dpa