Türkiye launches action plan to empower children in digital world and enhance online safety

By Emrullah Cesur

Türkiye has introduced a comprehensive four-year action plan to strengthen children's digital skills while ensuring their protection and safety in online environments.

The Presidential Decree on the Action Plan for Empowering Children in the Digital World (2026-2030), signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday,

The decree emphasizes that in a world rapidly transformed by digitalization, children as the guarantors of the future must be raised in line with contemporary requirements.

It highlights the importance of supporting their healthy development, strengthening digital competencies, and safeguarding them from online risks through enhanced security measures.

Türkiye aims to adopt a holistic approach to address the impacts of digital transformation on children by reinforcing protective and supportive policies and practices.

Inter-institutional coordination will be handled by the Ministry’s General Directorate of Child Services.

Progress will be tracked through a digital monitoring system established by the ministry.

All institutions and organizations responsible for assigned tasks must regularly enter details of their activities into the system in line with ministry guidelines.

Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas said in a post on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal that ensuring children can exist safely online and protecting them from all potential risks remains a top priority.

Goktas affirmed that the ministry will continue developing policies centered on children's best interests and building a safer, healthier, and stronger digital ecosystem.

Türkiye is also preparing legal regulations outlining steps to protect children from the harmful effects of social media.

The country has introduced stricter measures, including a proposal to prohibit children under 15 from creating or accessing social media accounts -- even with parental consent -- along with mandatory age verification and compulsory parental controls.

These measures aim to further strengthen protections for children in the digital space, in line with Türkiye’s ongoing efforts led by the Ministry of Family and Social Services.

In 2025, President Erdogan signed the Digital Child Rights Convention, reinforcing principles such as privacy, explicit consent, age-appropriate content, and digital literacy.

These steps reflect Türkiye's alignment with global trends in child online protection, including inspirations from frameworks such as the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which protects children under 13 by requiring verifiable parental consent for the collection of personal information, as well as recent international guidelines.

Within the context of its long-standing EU accession process, Türkiye’s regulations also show parallels with the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which imposes obligations on platforms to minimize exposure to illegal and harmful content, particularly for children.

*Writing by Selcuk Uysal