New Obligations Imposed on Gaming Companies under Law No. 5651
Introduction
Today, the internet has become an integral part of social life and serves as one of the most widely used means of mass communication. While the internet offers significant opportunities in many areas, such as access to information, communication, and digital services, it also gives rise to various legal and social challenges. The misuse of the internet may lead to violations of individuals’ fundamental rights and freedoms. For this reason, states introduce various legal regulations and protective measures to prevent unlawful acts committed online and to ensure the effective protection of users.
Recently, steps have been taken in Türkiye to strengthen the existing regulatory framework, particularly in response to the increasing risks faced by children in digital environments[1]. In this context, Law No. 7578 on Amendments to the Social Services Law and Certain Other Laws (“Law No. 7578”), which introduces amendments to Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed through Such Publications (“Law No. 5651”), was published in the Official Gazette dated 01.05.2026 and numbered 33240[2].
Through the amendments introduced to Law No. 5651, concepts such as games, game distributors, game developers, and game platforms have been defined, and the obligations imposed on game platforms have been set out. These amendments, as well as the obligations discussed in this article, will enter into force on 01.11.2026, while gaming companies have been granted a six-month transition period to ensure compliance.
New Definitions Introduced to Law No. 5651
With the new definitions introduced to Law No. 5651, the conceptual framework applicable to actors operating in the digital gaming sector has become clearer. The amendments are intended to prevent differences in interpretation that may arise in practice.
Accordingly, under Law No. 5651, a “game” refers to digital games distributed or updated via the internet and capable of being played online or offline in an electronic environment. A “game developer” is defined as a natural or legal person that designs digital games or game content, develops their software, or manages the development process. A “game distributor”, on the other hand, refers to a natural or legal person that manages relationships with sales channels for the purpose of delivering digital games produced or published by content providers to end users, coordinates the production and management of license keys, uses digital rights management systems, and provides financial or technical intermediary services throughout this process. In addition, a “game platform” is defined as a natural or legal person that provides software or technical infrastructure for the display, sale, distribution, download, or play of digital games and related additional content over the internet and enables or coordinates users’ access to games or content, license management, or user interaction.
With these amendments, the boundaries of obligations applicable to platforms and content providers have become more clearly defined. Furthermore, the broad definition of the concept of a game platform makes it possible for various digital structures that provide users with access to games to be considered within the scope of the regulation.
New Obligations Introduced through the Additional Provisions to Law No. 5651
Content Control and Parental Consent
Pursuant to the additional provision introduced to Law No. 5651, game platforms are required to provide parental control tools[3]. Such tools must be clear, comprehensible, and user-friendly.
These tools include mechanisms for monitoring accounts and requiring parental consent for financial transactions, such as purchases, rentals, and paid subscriptions.
Through the introduction of provisions regarding parental control tools under Law No. 5651, the aim is to strengthen parents’ ability to supervise their children’s activities in digital environments.
Age Restrictions
The additional provisions introduced to Law No. 5651 aim to prevent users from accessing games on game platforms that have not been classified in accordance with applicable age criteria. In this context, games without an age classification may only be made available on platforms based on the highest age category.
In addition, game platforms are responsible for removing content that has not been classified in accordance with applicable procedures.
The details regarding age classification are expected to be clarified through a regulation to be issued by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (“ICTA”).
Requirement to Appoint a Representative in Türkiye
One of the additional provisions introduced to Law No. 5651 concerns foreign-based game platforms that exceed a certain access threshold in Türkiye.
Accordingly, foreign game platforms receiving more than 100,000 daily accesses from Türkiye are required to appoint a natural or legal person representative in Türkiye for the purpose of receiving and responding to notifications, requests, and communications from the ICTA, the Access Providers Union, and judicial or administrative authorities, and to facilitate the fulfillment of obligations under Law No. 5651.
Information regarding such representative must be notified to the ICTA, and the representative’s contact details must be published on the game platform’s website in a manner that is easily visible and directly accessible.
Sanctions
In the event of non-compliance with the obligations described above or with the provisions set out in the regulation to be issued by the ICTA, the ICTA will notify the relevant game platform. If the relevant obligation is not fulfilled within 30 days following such notification, an administrative fine ranging from TRY 1,000,000 to TRY 10,000,000 may be imposed on the game platform.
If the violation continues, additional administrative fines of up to TRY 30,000,000, as well as graduated bandwidth restriction measures[4] of up to 30% and 50%, may be imposed. However, if the relevant obligations are subsequently fulfilled, only 25% of the administrative fines will be collected, and the bandwidth restriction measures will be lifted.
In determining the amount of the administrative fine, factors such as the nature and severity of the violation, its impact on users, and the damage caused are taken into consideration.
Conclusion
The amendments introduced to Law No. 5651 have clarified the legal framework applicable to actors operating within the digital gaming ecosystem and introduced new obligations, particularly for game platforms. At the core of these amendments lies the objective of reducing the risks children may encounter in digital environments, strengthening parental supervision mechanisms, and creating a safer digital gaming environment. In this regard, obligations such as age classification, the provision of parental control tools, and, under certain conditions, the appointment of a representative in Türkiye are intended to make the activities of game platforms more subject to oversight.
Nevertheless, the practical implementation of these obligations and the principles governing how they will operate in practice are expected to be clarified through secondary legislation to be issued by ICTA. Therefore, it is important for companies operating in the gaming sector to take these new regulations into account, plan their compliance processes accordingly, and complete the necessary preparations by 01.11.2026.
- Efforts to promote greater understanding and informed use of digital games were also undertaken prior to the regulation. In this context, the Digital Games Report 2020 published by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority in 2020 includes not only assessments of the digital gaming ecosystem but also initiatives carried out in Türkiye in this field. In this respect, the report is significant in demonstrating that, even prior to the regulation, issues relating particularly to children’s use of digital games and parental guidance had already attracted attention. For the full text of the report, see. (https://www.guvenlioyna.org.tr/uploads/ck-editor/family-reports/Dijital%20Oyunlar%20Raporu%202020.pdf), Access Date: 07.06.2026)
- For the announcement prepared on this matter, see. Mutlu, Pelin: “Significant Amendments to Law No. 5651” (https://www.erdem-erdem.av.tr/bilgi-bankasi/5651-sayili-kanunda-onemli-degisiklikler-yapildi, Access Date: 07.06.2026).
- To provide guidance to parents regarding digital games, the Digital Games Information Platform, established under the Safe Internet Center of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority, also launched a website titled Safe Play (Güvenli Oyna). The website provides information on parental control mechanisms and age restrictions, while also offering guidance and recommendations for parents. For the website, see. “Safe Play (Güvenli Oyna)” (https://www.guvenlioyna.org.tr/, Access Date: 07.06.2026).
- Bandwidth restriction refers to the intentional slowing down of access to an internet platform or online service through an administrative or technical measure. Although the relevant platform is not completely blocked, users’ access becomes significantly more difficult, making the service substantially harder to use in practice.
All rights of this article are reserved. This article may not be used, reproduced, copied, published, distributed, or otherwise disseminated without quotation or Erdem & Erdem Law Firm's written consent. Any content created without citing the resource or Erdem & Erdem Law Firm’s written consent is regularly tracked, and legal action will be taken in case of violation.
Other Contents
The European Union Artificial Intelligence Act (the AI Act or the Act), which entered into force on 1 August 2024, established a harmonized framework for AI systems across the Union. The Act follows a risk-based approach, with 'high-risk' AI systems at its center…
Generative AI technologies, particularly tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini, have rapidly created a transformative impact on the business world. By generating original outputs that closely resemble human-produced content, drawing…
The European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) issued Opinion 28/2024 addressing key data protection concerns related to the processing of personal data in the context of artificial intelligence (“AI”) models. This Opinion was prepared in response to the Irish Supervisory Authority’s request under Article 64(2) GDPR...
As technology advances, artificial intelligence (“AI”) is steadily making its way into dispute resolution, promising enhanced efficiency. Practitioners are carefully weighing its capabilities against its limitations...
The Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence (Convention) is an international treaty proposed by the Council of Europe that was recently opened for signature . This is the first legally binding international framework regulating the entire lifecycle of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. The Convention ensures...
The "Brussels Effect" refers to the phenomenon where European Union (“EU”) regulations influence or set standards globally. Since the EU is a significant market, global companies often find it practical and economically beneficial to adopt EU standards across all their operations rather than comply with multiple...
With its decision dated 11.10.2023 and numbered 2020/76 E., 2023/172 K. published in the Official Gazette dated 10 January 2024 and numbered 32425 ("Decision"), the Constitutional Court ("Constitutional Court") evaluated the requests for the annulment of certain articles of the Law No. 7253 on the...
The Information Technologies and Communications Board adopted the Procedures and Principles for Social Network Providers (“Procedures and Principles”) with its decision dated 28.03.2023 and numbered 2023/DK-ID/119. The said decision was published in the Official Gazette dated 01.04.2023, and entered into...
The first “Artificial Intelligence Act” of all time, which includes rules and regulations that directly affect tools such as ChatGPT, Bard and Midjourney adopted by the European Parliament with a majority of votes. Thus, the European Parliament has officially taken the steps of a regulation that could be a turning point for...
ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM) developed by OpenAI, is an artificial intelligence (AI) system based on deep learning techniques and neural networks for natural language processing. ChatGPT can process and generate human-like text, chat, analyse and answer follow-up questions, and acknowledge errors...