Significant Amendments to Law No. 5651

Significant amendments are introduced to the Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed through Such Publications (Law No. 5651) by the Law No. 7578 published in the Official Gazette dated 1 May 2026 and numbered 33240. These amendments mainly expand the obligations of social network providers, introduce new rules aimed at the protection of children, and set forth, for the first time, specific regulations applicable to game platforms.

The key points are summarized below:

• The concepts of “game”, “game developer”, “game distributor” and “game platform” have been introduced, and the digital gaming ecosystem was explicitly brought within the scope of the legislation.
• The scope of the obligation of social network providers to respond to user applications was expanded, and it is now mandatory to respond to all applications within 48 hours, without limitation to certain types of content.
• The provision of social network services to children under the age of 15 was prohibited; age verification mechanisms were made mandatory, and an obligation to provide segregated services for users over the age of 15 was introduced.
• The period for social network providers to submit information and documents requested by the Authority was significantly reduced and limited to a maximum of 15 days.
• New obligations were introduced for social network providers, including the provision of parental control tools, taking measures against misleading advertisements, and implementing urgent decisions within one hour for high-traffic platforms.
• New regulations were introduced for game platforms, including content rating obligations and the obligation to provide parental control tools.
• For game platforms based abroad and exceeding certain access thresholds, the obligation to appoint a representative in Türkiye was introduced, thereby strengthening supervision and enforcement mechanisms.
• The definitions of game, game distributor, game developer and game platform entered into force on the publication date. The new obligations for social network providers and the regulations concerning game platforms will enter into force six months after the publication date, i.e. on 1 November 2026.