Amendments introduced to the Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Broadcasts via the Internet and the Prevention of Crimes Committed through Such Broadcasts (the “Law”) by the Law No. 7578 on Amendments to the Social Services Law and Certain Other Laws (the “Amending Law”) have imposed new obligations on social network providers and gaming platforms. Through these amendments, it is aimed not only to clarify the responsibilities of existing social network providers, but also to ensure the protection of children and to establish a secure, transparent, and auditable structure across the entire digital ecosystem by bringing within the scope of supervision the actors in the gaming sector, whose legal status has been defined in the legislation for the first time.
The Amending Law was published in the Official Gazette dated 1 May 2026 and numbered 33240, and the obligations concerning social network providers and gaming platforms will enter into force six months later, i.e., on 1 November 2026.
New Obligations for Social Network Providers
The amendments to the Law have introduced the principal obligations listed below for social network providers, and the effective date of these obligations has been set as 1 November 2026:
- Age Restriction. Social network providers are required not to provide services to children under the age of fifteen and, accordingly, to take the necessary technical and administrative measures, including age verification mechanisms. In addition, content and services directed to children who have reached the age of fifteen must be segregated, and the measures taken in this scope must be published publicly on the social network provider’s website.
- Parental Control Tools. Social network providers are required to provide parental control tools. These tools must enable parents to control user account settings, make purchases and similar paid transactions subject to parental approval, and monitor and limit usage periods.
- Deceptive Advertisements. Social network providers are obliged to take measures to prevent deceptive advertisements.
- Requests for Information and Documents. Under the previous regulation in the Law, social network providers were required to respond to requests for information and documents of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (“ICTA”) within three (3) months at the latest. This period has been amended to the period to be determined by the ICTA, to be complied with immediately and, in any event, not exceeding fifteen (15) days.
- Decisions for Removal of Content and Blocking of Access. For social network providers with daily access from Türkiye exceeding ten million (10,000,000), decisions issued in urgent cases are required to be implemented immediately and, at the latest, within one (1) hour. In addition, the necessary systems and mechanisms must be established to prevent the re-publication on the platform of content subject to decisions for removal of content and/or blocking of access.
- If certain obligations set forth in the Law are not fulfilled by social network providers, the President of the ICTA may impose an administrative fine of up to three percent (3%) of the relevant social network provider’s global turnover in the previous calendar year. If the obligation is not fulfilled within thirty (30) days following the notification of the administrative fine, real and legal persons that are taxpayers resident in Türkiye will be prohibited from placing new advertisements with the relevant social network provider; in this context, no new agreements may be concluded and no related money transfers may be made.
If the obligation is not fulfilled within three (3) months from the date of the advertisement ban decision, the President of the ICTA may apply to the criminal judgeship of peace for a decision to reduce the internet traffic bandwidth of the social network provider by fifty percent (50%). If the obligation is still not fulfilled within thirty (30) days from the implementation of this decision, the President of the ICTA may reapply to the criminal judgeship of peace for a decision to reduce the bandwidth by up to ninety percent (90%), and in this second application the judge may determine a lower rate, provided that it is not less than fifty percent (50%). Upon fulfilment of the obligation, the advertisement ban will be lifted, and the court decisions will automatically become null and void.
Definitions Regarding the Gaming Ecosystem
With the amendment, concepts relating to digital games have been expressly defined in the Law. In this context, the concepts of “game,” “game developer,” “game distributor,” and “game platform” have been added to the Law. Accordingly, activities relating to the development, distribution, and provision of digital games to users have been placed within a defined framework, thereby ensuring that obligations are directed to the appropriate addressees according to their technical and administrative capabilities and that the addressees of administrative sanctions are identified in a manner that leaves no room for doubt.
New Regime for Gaming Platforms
The amendments to the Law have introduced the principal obligations listed below for the gaming sector, and the effective date of these obligations has been set as 1 November 2026.
In addition, the procedures and principles regarding the implementation of these obligations, the obligations to be complied with by gaming platforms, and the classification according to age criteria will be determined by a regulation to be issued by the ICTA.
- Unrated Games. Pursuant to the new provision added to the Law, gaming platforms will, as a rule, not be permitted to offer games that have not been duly rated; such content will be required either to be classified under the highest age category or to be removed from the platform.
- Appointment of a Local Representative. Foreign-based gaming platforms with daily access from Türkiye exceeding one hundred thousand (100,000) are required to appoint a real person or legal entity representative in Türkiye, notify the ICTA of the information relating to such representative, and publish this information on their website in an easily accessible manner.
- Parental Control Tools. Under the amendments, gaming platforms are required to provide parental control tools, and these tools must enable account management and paid transactions to be made subject to parental approval.
- Requests for Information and Documents. The ICTA may request information and documents directly related to the implementation of the Law, including the gaming platform’s corporate structure, information systems, and data processing mechanisms, with respect to the gaming platform’s compliance with the Law. Gaming platforms are obliged to submit such information and documents immediately and within the period to be determined by the ICTA, which shall not exceed fifteen (15) days.
- Gaming platforms that fail to fulfil the obligations set forth in the Law and in the regulation to be issued by the ICTA will be notified by the ICTA. The sanctions regime follows a graduated enforcement structure: if the obligation remains unfulfilled within thirty (30) days of notification, the President of the ICTA may impose an administrative fine ranging from TRY 1,000,000 to TRY 10,000,000; continued non-compliance may result in a second fine ranging from TRY 10,000,000 to TRY 30,000,000, determined by taking into account the nature and severity of the violation, its impact on users, and the damage caused. If non-compliance persists, the President of the ICTA may apply to the criminal judgeship of peace for a decision to reduce the gaming platform’s internet traffic bandwidth by up to fifty percent (50%). Upon fulfilment of the obligation, one quarter of the administrative fines imposed will be collected, and the court decisions will automatically become null and void.
You can access the full text of the amendments via this link. (Only available in Turkish)
