Turkey’s Ministry of Justice is drafting a bill requiring social media users to verify their identity through a government system, expanding state oversight of online speech in a country where authorities have repeatedly prosecuted journalists and critics.
The proposal would require users to authenticate their identity through the government’s e-Government portal (e-Devlet) when opening accounts, enabling authorities to identify the person behind each profile even if it operates under a pseudonym.
The legislation would amend Turkey’s internet law, known as the Law on Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed by Means of Such Publication (Law No. 5651), which has governed online content and platform responsibilities since 2007. The law has been expanded several times to increase state oversight of digital platforms, with the latest changes extending that framework by introducing identity verification at the point of account creation.
The bill, announced by Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, would apply to platforms with more than 1 million daily users in Turkey, including X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Under the proposed system, users creating accounts would be redirected to e-Devlet for identity verification. Instead of sharing personal data directly with platforms, the system would generate a unique digital key confirming verification, while identity matching would be stored by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), Turkey’s telecommunications regulator.
Social media platforms would be required to integrate with the e-Devlet system and ensure that users complete identity verification before opening or maintaining accounts.
Gürlek has defended the plan as necessary to combat fake accounts, introduce age verification for minors and ensure that users are held accountable for their posts, framing it as a measure to protect children and reduce online abuse.
But Okan Konuralp, an opposition member of parliament from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in a parliamentary session on Wednesday described the proposal as a “digital profiling initiative,” saying it would allow authorities to track how social media accounts are used and link them to individuals under the pretext of protecting children.
Yaman Akdeniz, a cyber law expert and co-founder of the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), said on X the changes mean “anonymous internet use in Turkey is effectively coming to an end,” describing the system as a form of mandatory “digital identity” that could enable broad surveillance.
The proposal would effectively require all users to link their accounts to verified identities, allowing authorities to identify individuals even if they use pseudonyms.
The bill includes strict penalties for platforms that fail to comply, including fines of up to 3 percent of global revenue, advertising bans and bandwidth restrictions. In cases involving certain criminal offenses, authorities would be able to request verified identity information within 30 days.
The proposal has not yet been enacted into law, and officials have outlined a timeline of around nine months for its potential implementation.
