Turkey wants to ban social media for kids under 15 - Engadget

A bill has been passed and now needs approval from the country’s President to become law. The Turkish parliament has voted through a bill that would ban all children under the age of 15 from using social media. As part of the legislation, social media platforms would be required to enforce age-verification measures on their apps, provide parental control tools, and react more quickly to harmful content being posted. As reported by The Associated Press, lawmakers have passed the bill in the wake of two deadly school shootings in Turkey, after which police arrested 162 people accused of sharing footage of the tragedies online. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan now has 15 days to accept the bill in order for it to become law, after reportedly saying social media platforms had become "cesspools" in a televised address to the nation. As well as the major social media platforms, AP reports that online gaming companies would also have to implement their own restrictions on minors, with potential punishments including bandwidth reductions and financial penalties. This isn't the first time Turkey has locked horns with social media and online gaming platforms. Instagram has been blocke