Turkey Moves to End Online Anonymity With Mandatory Social Media ID Law

Turkey is advancing a major overhaul of social media rules that will require mandatory identity verification for all users.

This month, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced that the new law would end anonymous accounts on social media.

“If a person is going to make a comment or publish an article, their identity will definitely be known. In other words, they will not be able to do this using a fake account, or a fake account from abroad, without identity verification,” Gurlek said in an interview with the newspaper Yeni Safak published on Feb. 15.

Turkey is governed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, which has been in power since 2002.

Erdogan has served as president since 2014.

According to the newspaper report, the main objective of the law is to prevent the spread of “disinformation” by accounts held by those with unverified identities.

The publication added that under the draft legislation, anyone posting a comment or publishing content will be required to have a clearly identified identity.

In a statement posted on X on Feb. 23, the Freedom of Expression Association, a Turkish free-expression and press-freedom group, said the regulation would construct what it described as a “massive digital panopticon” in which users are continuously observed, profiled, and monitored.

The Panopticon, an 18th-century prison concept developed by philosopher Jeremy Bentham, has since become a symbol of total surveillance based on the idea of constant, unseen observation.

The Freedom of Expression Association said the proposal would push individuals toward self-censorship because of fear of profiling or prosecution.

“Anonymity is not merely a personal choice; it is the sole guarantee for dissidents, journalists, activists, and disadvantaged groups to express their ideas fearlessly in oppressive regimes,” the group stated.

“Forcing users to make every post with their [identity number] will create a massive chilling effect on society.”

The association added that fear of profiling and legal consequences would not only suppress political criticism but also discourage boycotts, consumer activism, whistleblowing, and allegations of corruption, adding that the regulation amounted to political engineering.

Turkish Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Goktas said in a Feb. 12 post on X that officials are working on a social media ban for children.

“Within this scope, we have reached the final stage in our regulation regarding social media use under the age of 15,” she said.

“Our goal is to impose a responsibility on social media platforms. We want them to implement a process similar to the regulations they apply in other countries, here in our own country.

“Our parents are also among the most important stakeholders in this process. However, if we act with the same awareness and responsibility, we can build a safer digital future for our children.”

Grok, which is integrated into X, was blocked in Turkey last year after authorities said the Elon Musk-founded chatbot generated responses insulting Erdogan.

According to a report by the state-run Anadolu Agency on July 9, Ankara’s chief prosecutor’s office said it had launched an investigation after the Grok chatbot—developed by xAI—generated responses about modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and religious values.

The Turkish Penal Code criminalizes insults, especially when made publicly or through digital platforms. Anyone who insults the president can face imprisonment for a term of one to four years.

There is a wider international trend in which governments are advancing laws that, while framed around age verification and child protection, would in practice make online anonymity increasingly difficult.

A handful of countries, including Germany, France, Australia, and Ireland, have implemented age verification to access specified content, from social media access to pornography.

At the end of July, the UK rolled out the most comprehensive national system so far.

Beyond age verification, some political leaders in Western countries have begun questioning the legitimacy of online anonymity itself.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently said at an event that online anonymity is a problem, German news agency DPA reported.

“I want to see real names on the internet. I want to know who is speaking,” Merz said on Feb. 25 in Trier, Germany. “In politics, we engage in debates in our society using our real names and without visors. I expect the same from everyone else who critically examines our country and our society.”

The Turkish government did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment by publication time.