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Turkey Bans Social Media Services for Children Under 15

Turkey will no longer allow social media platforms to provide their services to children under 15 years of age, Inci Ozbek of Bloomberg reports, citing a regulation published in the Official Gazette. Companies will be required to verify users' ages when accounts are created by using an age-verification token through an e-government system. The regulation will take effect on November 1st and age verification for existing accounts is set to be completed by March 31, 2027. Publicly traded companies in the space include Meta Platforms (META), Alphabet (GOOGL), Pinterest (PINS), Reddit (RDDT) and Snap (SNAP).

EU Unveils Kids Act, Restricting Social Media Access for Under 13s

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the EU Kids Act during her State of the Union address. The proposal prohibits social media platforms from accessing children under the age of 13 and sets an EU-wide minimum age for minors to open an account of their own at the age of 15, thereby ensuring a gradual approach. "The KIDS Act also reverses the burden of proof. Now, service providers will have to show that their services are age-appropriate and safe by design." Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: "Today, our children are engaging with the most sophisticated technologies ever created. Technology that was never created with their wellbeing in mind. Our KIDS Act is reversing the burden of proof - it is for platforms to show they are safe by design. And we put parents back in the driving seat, giving them the tools to help their children navigate a safer online world." The legislative proposal has been submitted to the European Parliament and Council, with a view to launching the legislative process for their examination and adoption. Publicly traded companies in the space include Meta Platforms (META), Alphabet (GOOGL), Pinterest (PINS), Reddit (RDDT) and Snap (SNAP).