Social media companies such as Facebook, X, WhatsApp, and YouTube will be required to establish a presence in Turkey. Access to these platforms may also be restricted for reasons related to national security, public health, and safety.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) has released a draft regulation for amendment to the “Authorization Regulation for the Electronic Communication Sector” for public discussion on its website. Interested parties are required to submit their feedback by April 28.

The proposed change includes adding a new paragraph to Article 25 of the current regulation.

Public interest as grounds for censorship

According to the addition to the regulation, the institution can decide to directly block access to relevant applications or websites of over-the-top service providers within the framework of national security, public order, public health, and similar public interest requirements, regardless of whether they are subject to authorization.

As per the draft, social media platforms will be required to establish a presence in Turkey. It is specified in the proposed addition that, “Over-the-top service providers shall conduct their activities through the participation of authorized representatives of full-fledged status as a joint-stock or limited company established in Turkey within the framework of authorization by the Institution. In this context, shares of a company to be established by a foreign company with the aim of being authorized to provide services in Turkey must be entirely owned by such company.”

These platforms will be subject to a series of new regulations. The draft states that, “For such companies, compliance with additional regulations that the Institution may put in place for the fulfillment of its responsibilities under the laws, such as consumer protection, establishment and protection of competition, network and information security, personal data protection, interoperability, reporting of sectoral data and security incidents to the Institution, and issues related to public order and national security, is necessary.”

Deadline until the beginning of 2026

Social media platforms are given until January 1, 2026, to meet these requirements, and those who fail to comply will face bandwidth throttling and fines. The draft regulation includes a penalty clause stating, “Over-the-top service providers providing services without authorization shall be subject to an administrative fine of one million Turkish liras up to thirty million Turkish liras. In case of failure to pay the administrative fine on time and obtain authorization within six months of notification by the Institution, a decision may be made to reduce the internet traffic bandwidth by up to ninety-five percent.”