FILE - A car passes Facebook's new Meta logo on a sign at the company headquarters on Oct. 28, 2021, in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
FILE - A car passes Facebook's new Meta logo on a sign at the company headquarters on Oct. 28, 2021, in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
ISTANBUL (AP) 鈥 Turkish lawmakers kicked off a debate Tuesday on a draft law package that includes restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15, making Turkey the latest country to seek measures to protect young people from dangerous online activity.
If it becomes law, the bill would force social media platforms to install age鈥憊erification systems, provide parental control tools and require companies to rapidly respond to content deemed harmful. It鈥檚 unclear how long the parliament debate will last.
Turkish President 鈥檚 government says the proposal aims to mitigate the online risks to children鈥檚 safety and privacy.
鈥淧rotecting our children from all kinds of risks, threats and harmful content is our top priority,鈥 Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas, Turkey's minister for family and social services, said earlier this year.
The main opposition party 鈥 Republican People's Party or CHP 鈥 has criticized the proposal, saying children should be protected 鈥渘ot with bans but with rights-based policies.鈥
Under the draft proposal, digital platforms 鈥 such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and others 鈥 would have to block children under 15 from opening accounts and introduce parental controls that would manage children's access.
Online game companies will also be required to appoint a representative in Turkey to ensure they abide by the new regulations. Potential penalties include internet bandwidth reductions and fines imposed by Turkey鈥檚 communications watchdog.
The Turkish government has a recent record of restricting online platforms as they have grown as a means of expressing dissent. Online communications were widely restricted during in support of Istanbul鈥檚 jailed opposition mayor, .
Restrictions on first began in December in Australia, where social media companies identified as belonging to children.
Last month, Indonesia began implementing a banning children younger than 16 from access to digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction.
Some other countries 鈥 including , and 鈥 are also taking or considering measures to restrict children鈥檚 access to social media amid growing concern that they are being harmed by exposure to unregulated social media content.
