A new regulation regarding the presence of children in the digital world is coming to Türkiye. The draft prepared for the regulation that imposes a social media ban on people under the age of 15 will be presented to the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in a short time. The focus of the study is on limiting children’s access to social media platforms, requiring platforms to establish an effective age verification system, and linking parental control to the legal framework. Child and youth psychiatrist Prof. gave information to Haber Global Web Özel. Dr. Veysi Çeri said that criminal organizations identify children that they can drag into crime through their posts, with the artificial intelligence-based system they developed.
AUTHENTICATION
The most critical title of the regulation will be the “effective age verification system”. While only age information based on declaration is deemed sufficient on many platforms, with the new regulation, it will be mandatory for companies to establish technically verifiable systems. How these systems will operate, what data security standards they will be subject to and what methods of authentication will be used will be determined by the regulations to be issued.. The aim is to prevent children from being included in the system by making their ages seem older than they actually are.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE DOSE
Child and youth psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Veysi Çeri gave information about the new working methods of criminal organizations and emphasized that the 15-year age regulation on social media is very important. Çeri made the following statements: “There is now almost a consensus that social media and digital content affect children’s spiritual and emotional development. Research in this field is increasing rapidly. While in the past it was discussed whether screens were harmful or not, today we see that their effects are clearly revealed. Its harm is directly related to the dose of use. “Research shows that use over a certain period of time creates negative effects.”
CYBER BULLYING
Prof. Dr. Çeri said, “Social media exposes children to various dangers. Cyber bullying, communicating with strangers and being open to manipulation are among these.. There are findings that children dragged into crime can be reached through digital environments. “It is stated that some criminal organizations analyze children’s posts with artificial intelligence-supported systems and try to determine which of them may be “suitable targets” and direct these children to commit crimes,” he said.
IMPORTANT FOR UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE
Emphasizing that children under the age of 15 are much more likely to be affected by such effects, Çeri said: “While even adults are affected at certain levels, it is clear that children in their developmental age are much more vulnerable. The advertising industry uses similar psychological mechanisms. In the USA, there are studies showing that foreign actors are working to influence public perception through digital platforms.. If adults can be affected by such interventions, it is not surprising that children are much more affected. “As age decreases, the level of impact also increases.”
IT’S DIFFICULT ALONE
Çeri said: “Therefore, it is extremely important and valuable to reduce the exposure of children under a certain age. States and authorized institutions need to take steps in this regard. Most of the existing algorithms are based on preventing users from getting bored in a short time and ensuring they stay on the platform longer; so more use is encouraged. It is difficult for individuals to combat systems of this scale and power alone; public regulations seem inevitable.”
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