Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that efforts to implement age restrictions on social media platforms are ongoing and added, "We believe the necessary regulations will be made within the year." Regarding the currently inaccessible Roblox platform, he said, "Steps have been taken to remove and regulate certain content, but the process is not yet finalized."
After the "Connecting and Accessible Türkiye 2053 Inter-University R&D Idea Competition" award ceremony, Uraloğlu responded to journalists' questions.
When asked about new developments on unblocking access to the online gaming platform Roblox in Türkiye, Uraloğlu said that young people frequently raise the issue during visits and public engagements.
He continued:
"This issue is not directly under the authority of our Ministry or the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). Access was blocked through a legal process. Talks with Discord and Roblox are ongoing. Some steps have been taken to remove and regulate specific content, but the process is not yet complete. Once finalized, these platforms may be reopened through a similar legal process. We are closely following the developments and public demand. Hopefully, they will remove the problematic content soon so we can proceed."
AGE RESTRICTIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Referring to Meta's decision to require parental consent for users under 16 to use live streams and the automatic blurring of private messages, Uraloğlu noted that Türkiye played a role in encouraging these changes. He said consultations with managers from eight social media platforms in Türkiye are ongoing to discuss how such decisions can be practically implemented.
He emphasized that impractical or unenforceable legal measures would be meaningless and added:
"We informed them, and their decision is valuable. We plan to go a step further and are working with relevant institutions. I believe we will complete the necessary regulations this year."
TRIPLE RUNWAY OPERATION AT ISTANBUL AIRPORT
Uraloğlu also spoke about the "triple runway operation" to begin at Istanbul Airport on April 17:
"Infrastructure is an expensive investment and must be fully utilized. Currently, only two aircraft can be operated simultaneously on our three parallel runways. To operate all three runways at full capacity, we sent our team to the US for training. Starting April 17, Istanbul Airport will be the first outside the US to implement triple parallel operations. All inspections and simulations have been completed. This will enable aircraft to land without circling and reduce taxi distances by providing the nearest taxiway access to the runways."
