A bill prohibiting social media registration for children under the age of 16 has been referred to the Kurultai for consideration. The government submitted the document to the Mazhilis before the parliamentary reform, after which it was passed to the new legislative body.
WHAT BILL WAS SUBMITTED
According to BES.media, the Ministry of Culture and Information reported that at the end of June, the government submitted to the Mazhilis a draft law "On introducing amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on issues of online platforms and mass media".
The amendments provide for changes to the Law "On Online Platforms and Online Advertising". According to the draft, users under the age of 16 will not be able to register on online platforms that are classified as social networks.
WHY THE KURULTAI WILL CONSIDER THE BILL
Despite the submission of the document to the Mazhilis, it will be considered by the Kurultai. This is due to the provisions of constitutional legislation, according to which bills submitted to the Mazhilis before 1 July 2026 are passed on to the new legislative body for consideration.
Re-submission of the bill by the government will not be required.
WHAT THE PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS ENTAIL
The draft specifically concerns the registration of new users under the age of 16. The ministry's response does not mention a complete ban on minors visiting social networking sites or viewing publicly available content without authorisation. The department also did not clarify how they will deal with existing accounts of users under 16. It is unknown whether such pages will be blocked, deleted, or re-verified.
Instant messaging services, including WhatsApp and Telegram, are planned to be exempt from the proposed restrictions. The ministry explained that such services are intended primarily for personal communication and are necessary for children to stay in touch with parents, legal guardians, and educational organisations.
HOW USER AGE IS PROPOSED TO BE VERIFIED
Primary responsibility for compliance with the new requirements is proposed to be placed on the owners of online platforms and their representatives in Kazakhstan.
However, the specific mechanism for age verification has not yet been determined. The department did not specify whether eGov, IIN, digital documents, bank identification, facial recognition technology, or other methods of age confirmation will be used.
The Ministry of Culture also reported that technical and organisational issues are planned to be worked out jointly with the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, and the implementation procedure will be established by subordinate regulatory legal acts after public discussion.
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THE INITIATIVE
The initiative is aimed at protecting children from negative information influence and other risks of the digital environment.
The department also cited international experience. According to its data, restrictions for users under 16 years of age are in effect in Australia, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan, and an age threshold of 15 years is set in France and Turkey. Similar initiatives, as noted in the response, are being considered in Spain, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Greece.
