Türkiye is assessing whether further safeguards are needed after Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion and introduce new limits on minors’ use of Facebook and Instagram under a settlement with U.S. state attorneys general.
Parliament’s Digital Media Commission head Nazım Elmas said commission staff had been instructed to examine public demands and complaints submitted to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) and the Presidency’s Communication Center (CİMER).
“If there is similar demand in Türkiye, we will make the necessary updates,” Elmas said.
Meta reached the agreement with 52 attorneys general from U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia.
The cases accused the company of using addictive platform features and misleading the public about risks to children. Meta denied the allegations and liability.
A federal judge approved the settlement on Aug. 27.
Under the agreement, about $12.7 billion will be distributed to participating jurisdictions in annual installments over 10 years.
A further $5.3 billion is conditional on TikTok and YouTube adopting comparable safeguards and making matching payments.
Users under 18 in participating jurisdictions will be subject to a default cumulative two-hour daily limit across Facebook and Instagram.
Access to feeds, Reels and other public features will be blocked between midnight and 6 a.m., while most notifications will be muted between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Direct messages are exempt from the restrictions.
Other measures include stronger age-assurance systems, expanded parental controls, hidden like counts by default and the option of a nonalgorithmic feed.
The measures apply only in participating U.S. jurisdictions, prompting calls for similar protections elsewhere.
British Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “We don’t want a situation where young people in America have got a higher rate of protection than young people in the U.K.”
Officials in the European Union, Australia and South Korea also questioned limiting the safeguards to the United States.
Türkiye has separately adopted Law No. 7578, whose social media and gaming provisions will take effect on Nov. 1.
The law bars social networks from serving children under 15 and requires age verification and child-specific services for older minors.
Gaming platforms must introduce age classifications and parental controls.
Technology lawyer Gökhan Ahi said the U.S. settlement bound only the parties and did not require Meta to apply the same measures in Türkiye.
The agreement would not automatically constitute a precedent in Turkish courts, he said. Individuals could still seek compensation, but would need strong evidence linking the platform’s practices to the alleged harm.
