Kazakhstan bill would ban under-16s from registering on social media

August 28, 2026 · forbes.kz

A bill submitted to Kazakhstan's parliament in June would bar children under 16 from registering on social networks, part of a planned rewrite of the country's 2018 law on protecting children from harmful information. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev raised the measure at the Republican August Conference, saying he will ask deputies to take up the bill when the first session of the Kurultai opens. He said similar restrictions are already in place in a number of countries and pressed for decisive steps to protect children's psychological wellbeing, warning that inaction "could negatively affect stability in society." He also ordered the government to speed up and expand mandatory children's SIM cards, describing them as a source of "information immunity," and separately asked officials to tackle aggressive fast-food advertising, pointing to about 7,000 children currently under medical observation for diabetes.

Social platforms operating in Kazakhstan would lose a share of registered under-16 users if the bill passes, narrowing the reach of paid social and influencer campaigns aimed at younger audiences in the country. Fast-food and QSR marketers active in Kazakhstan should track the advertising crackdown Tokayev flagged alongside the bill, since it points toward further restrictions on categories tied to child health. Campaigns built around youth reach on social platforms in Kazakhstan may need an earlier shift toward channels less exposed to age-verification rules, television among them, before the bill takes effect.