Türkiye’s parliamentary subcommittee on children’s rights has called for legal recognition of the “right to be forgotten” to protect children’s privacy in the digital age, warning that parents’ social media posts are creating permanent online records for children long before they can give consent.
According to the commission’s report covering threats facing children in digital media, sharing the joys and challenges of parenthood on social media has become a social norm.
As a result, children began accumulating digital records at a very early age, often without any control over how their images or personal information are used.
The subcommittee argued that children should have the right to control their online histories.
It recommended legal mechanisms that would allow past content to be deleted or restricted when necessary.
According to the report, a legally defined “right to be forgotten” would help remove digital traces and images linked to childhood vulnerability or harm, and protect children from the long-term stigmatizing effects of digital media.
The “right to be forgotten” refers to an individual’s ability to request the removal or restriction of personal data and online content that is no longer in their best interests.
Lawmakers also proposed the creation of a dedicated section for individuals aged 0–18.
This section would set out child-specific rules for data processing, storage, third-party sharing and consent, tailored to children’s age and level of development.
In the context of rising pedophilia cases globally, the report also cautioned that children’s photos risk being misused on exploitative websites without parents’ knowledge.
