AI Governance World Map

Country Overview

Turkey has no single, binding AI-specific statute in force as of mid-2026. A comprehensive draft Artificial Intelligence Law (Bill No. 2/2234), submitted to the Grand National Assembly in June 2024 and modeled loosely on the EU AI Act's risk-based structure, has reportedly stalled in committee, with legal commentators suggesting it is unlikely to pass in its current form given the limited parliamentary weight of the party that introduced it. In its place, governance has proceeded through sectoral guidance: the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK), which administers Law No. 6698, published a 'Guidelines on Generative AI and the Protection of Personal Data (in 15 Questions)' in November 2025 and followed with guidance on agentic AI systems in March 2026. Separately, a narrower draft law on AI-generated content — introducing mandatory 'Generated by Artificial Intelligence' labeling for deepfakes and penal-code amendments — was submitted to parliament in November 2025.

Alongside this thin regulatory layer, the government has pursued a large infrastructure- and industry-focused strategy. In June 2026, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled 'Türkiye's Artificial Intelligence Vision and Action Plan (2026-2030),' targeting at least $10 billion in largely private-sector investment, a national data-center capacity of at least 1 gigawatt by 2030, and workforce programs aiming to train 10,000 advanced AI specialists and 100,000 application professionals. The plan sits within a broader push that includes a defense sector already active in AI-enabled systems (via Baykar, ASELSAN and HAVELSAN) and a domestic model ecosystem (T3 AI, TÜBİTAK's Bilge, HAVELSAN's MAIN platform) still relatively untested against international benchmarks. Meanwhile, rights groups and independent journalists have documented a rapid, largely unregulated expansion of AI-enabled facial-recognition surveillance used against protesters, and in July 2025 Turkey became the first country to open a legal probe into and block content from Elon Musk's Grok chatbot over statements about Erdoğan, Atatürk and religious values — developments that sit uneasily alongside the country's still-unresolved comprehensive AI law.

At a Glance

Overall AI policy direction

Large infrastructure push, stalled comprehensive AI law

Major AI companies

Research institutions

Live debates

Latest development: August 18, 2026
Regulatory approach: Sectoral guidance from the data protection authority (KVKK) layered on a draft comprehensive AI law that has stalled in parliamentary committee since mid-2024
Major AI companies: Baykar, ASELSAN, HAVELSAN +3 more
Major cloud providers: Turkcell / Google Cloud, AWS
Leading research institutions: Middle East Technical University (METU), Bilkent University, Boğaziçi University
Key ministries: Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency (CBDDO), Ministry of Industry and Technology, Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK) +1 more
Government involvement: High and growing — led by the Presidency's Digital Transformation Office and the Ministry of Industry and Technology, with state-linked defense firms central to domestic model development
Industrial strategy: 2026-2030 Action Plan targets roughly 1GW of data-center capacity, a National Data Library of 2,000+ public datasets, and training for 10,000 advanced AI specialists plus 100,000 application professionals
International partnerships: Turkcell's hyperscale cloud partnership with Google Cloud (Ankara; Türkiye set to become Google Cloud's 43rd region) and AWS's new Istanbul Local Zone, alongside a proposed joint large language model for Turkic languages via the Organization of Turkic States
Primary policy focus: Scaling compute and data infrastructure under the new Action Plan, while a comprehensive draft AI law remains stalled and narrower rules (generative-AI guidance, deepfake labeling) advance piecemeal

Current Direction

Tightening

Turkey's direction is mixed but leans toward tighter state involvement: a large state-backed compute and industrial buildout is proceeding rapidly under the 2026-2030 Action Plan, while on the rules side KVKK has issued successive binding-adjacent guidance on generative and agentic AI, a deepfake-labeling bill is moving through parliament, and authorities have shown a willingness to block AI chatbot content outright (the Grok case). The one comprehensive, EU-AI-Act-style framework that would set clear risk-based obligations — the 2024 draft AI law — remains stalled, so in practice Turkey's AI governance is advancing through narrower, faster-moving instruments rather than a single overarching statute.

Recent Developments

7 this cycle

Presidential Circular No. 2026/9 was published in the Official Gazette (18 August 2026), formally putting the Türkiye AI Action Plan 2026-2030 into effect following its June unveiling at the Istanbul AI Summit. The circular directs all public institutions to implement the plan under Ministry of Industry and Technology coordination -- including dedicating at least 2 percent of public investment budgets to AI projects -- and anchors targets of 1 GW of data-centre computing power, roughly $10 billion in AI infrastructure investment, and 10,000 advanced AI specialists trained by 2030.
2026-08-18
SourceAnadolu Agency Habertürk
President Erdoğan unveils 'Türkiye's Artificial Intelligence Vision and Action Plan (2026-2030)' at the Türkiye Artificial Intelligence Summit, committing at least $10B (mostly private investment) toward data centers, compute and workforce programs.
Major
2026-06-13
SourceTürkiye Today Daily Sabah
KVKK (Personal Data Protection Authority) issues guidance addressing agentic AI systems, joining a small group of data protection authorities (including the UK's ICO, Spain's AEPD and the EU's EDPS) to publish such guidance.
2026-03-12
SourceMondaq / Egemenoğlu
Turkcell and Google Cloud agree to build Türkiye's first hyperscale regional data center in Ankara, with Türkiye set to become Google Cloud's 43rd global region under a joint roughly $3B investment.
2025-11-25
SourceData Center Dynamics
KVKK publishes 'Guidelines on Generative AI and the Protection of Personal Data (in 15 Questions),' its first comprehensive interpretation of how Turkey's data protection law applies across the generative-AI lifecycle.
2025-11-24
SourceGenTemizer
A draft law amending the Turkish Penal Code and related statutes to regulate AI-generated content — including mandatory deepfake labeling and content-blocking requirements — is submitted to the Grand National Assembly.
2025-11-07
SourceGide Loyrette Nouel
Turkey becomes the first country to open a formal legal probe into, and block content from, Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot, after it generated posts deemed insulting to Erdoğan, Atatürk and religious values.
2025-07-11
SourceGlobal Voices

Policy and Regulation

6 tracked

Draft Artificial Intelligence Law (Bill No. 2/2234)

Proposed

Comprehensive, EU AI Act-influenced draft submitted to parliament in June 2024, proposing risk-based obligations and a registry for high-risk systems (e.g., medical diagnostics, autonomous transport). Legal commentary as of March 2026 suggests it is stalled in committee and unlikely to pass in its current form.

SourceCMS Expert Guide Digital Watch Observatory

Draft Law on Measures Concerning AI-Generated Content

Proposed

Submitted November 7, 2025; would require deepfakes to carry a 'Generated by Artificial Intelligence' label (with fines up to TRY 5 million for non-compliance), mandate blocking of harmful AI content within six hours, and impose dataset-transparency obligations on providers.

SourceGide Loyrette Nouel

Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK)

In force

Turkey's general data protection law, which KVKK has increasingly applied to AI systems via sector guidance rather than new binding legislation.

SourceGenTemizer

KVKK Guidelines on Generative AI and Personal Data Protection (15 Questions)

In force

Non-binding but influential November 2025 guidance applying KVKK principles across the generative-AI lifecycle, covering training data, deployment and use.

SourceGenTemizer

KVKK Guidance on Agentic AI

In force

March 2026 guidance addressing personal-data risks specific to autonomous, tool-using AI agents.

SourceMondaq / Egemenoğlu

Türkiye's Artificial Intelligence Vision and Action Plan (2026-2030)

Passed

Government-adopted national plan (not binding legislation) built around discovery, use, production and governance, with data-center capacity, workforce and public-investment targets.

SourceTürkiye Today Daily Sabah

Research Ecosystem

AI-relevant research runs through METU (Middle East Technical University, which has announced efforts to build a dedicated AI hub), Bilkent University, Boğaziçi University's Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and Koç University, alongside TÜBİTAK's public-sector AI research including its 'Bilge' model. A meaningful share of applied AI R&D also sits inside state-linked defense firms (ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, Baykar) rather than purely academic settings, reflecting the government's stated ambition to replicate its defense-industry gains in civilian AI.

SourceDigital Watch Observatory Daily Sabah

Major AI Companies

Baykar

Drone manufacturer central to Turkey's defense-AI push; developer of the AI-enabled KEMANKEŞ 1 miniature cruise missile and, with the T3 Foundation, of the T3 AI model that entered beta via the government-linked NSosyal social platform in July 2025.

ASELSAN

State-linked defense electronics company developing AI-enabled targeting, sensor and autonomous-systems technology.

HAVELSAN

Defense and enterprise software company operating the MAIN platform, reported to include a nine-billion-parameter domestic language model.

Turkcell

Turkey's largest telecom operator and data-center provider, partnering with Google Cloud to build Türkiye's first hyperscale AI data-center region in Ankara.

Trendyol

E-commerce decacorn applying large-scale recommendation and logistics AI across its marketplace.

Insider

Turkish-founded marketing-technology unicorn using AI for customer engagement and growth-marketing products, with a significant international customer base.

Cloud Infrastructure

Frontier AI: Emerging / sovereign models
Compute: State-backed build-out: Turkcell-Google Cloud Ankara hyperscale region and a ~1GW-by-2030 data-centre target under the 2026-2030 Action Plan
Chip access: Import-reliant; a defence-industry indigenisation push but no advanced domestic chip fabrication

Turkcell / Google Cloud

Joint venture (announced November 2025) to build Türkiye's first hyperscale regional data center in Ankara, with Türkiye becoming Google Cloud's 43rd global region under a roughly $3B combined investment; construction targeted to begin in Q1 2026 with full capacity by 2028.

AWS

Operates an AWS Local Zone in Istanbul (general availability announced May 2026), providing local compute and storage without a full AWS region.

Leading Universities

Middle East Technical University (METU)

Public research university that has announced plans to build a dedicated AI hub as part of Turkey's broader AI competitiveness push.

Bilkent University

Private research university with AI and machine learning coursework and research within its Computer Engineering department.

Boğaziçi University

Hosts the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, offering doctoral training in data science and AI.

Think Tanks

SETA (Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research)

Ankara-based think tank that has published analysis on Turkey's national AI strategy and framed AI policy as an instrument of Turkish foreign-policy autonomy.

Government Institutions

Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency (CBDDO)

Presidency body co-leading Turkey's national AI strategy work alongside the Ministry of Industry and Technology; headed by Ali Taha Koç.

Ministry of Industry and Technology

Co-leads national AI strategy and the 2026-2030 AI Action Plan; led by Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır.

Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK)

Independent authority administering Law No. 6698, which has issued the main body of Turkish AI-adjacent guidance to date (generative AI, agentic AI).

TÜBİTAK

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, developer of the 'Bilge' domestic AI model and a funder of national AI R&D.

Notable Gaps

Comprehensive binding AI law
The 2024 draft AI Law (Bill 2/2234) remains stalled in committee as of 2026, so Turkey has no enacted, dedicated AI statute — governance instead runs through KVKK guidance and narrower sectoral bills.
Independent AI regulator
No dedicated AI regulatory body exists yet; KVKK covers AI only insofar as it touches personal data, leaving non-data AI harms (e.g., safety of autonomous systems, algorithmic discrimination outside data protection) without a clear regulatory home.
Frontier model benchmarking
Domestic models such as T3 AI, TÜBİTAK's Bilge and HAVELSAN's MAIN are described in government and industry sources, but none appear to have been independently benchmarked against leading international models; claims about their capabilities should be treated cautiously.

Key People

Digital Transformation Office (CBDDO)→

Ministry of Industry and Technology→

TÜBİTAK→

Baykar→

SETA Foundation

Ali Taha Koç

Government

President, Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency

Presidency of Türkiye

Mehmet Fatih Kacır

Government

Minister of Industry and Technology

Government of Türkiye

People and Organisations to Follow

Ali Taha Koç

Government

President of the Digital Transformation Office; a lead architect of Turkey's national AI strategy and the 2026-2030 Action Plan.

SETA Foundation

Think tank

Ankara think tank publishing regularly on Turkey's AI strategy and its foreign-policy dimensions.

Current Debates

2 live

Government

AI-powered surveillance expansion outpacing Turkey's stalled comprehensive AI law

Independent reporting has documented a rapid buildout of AI-enabled facial-recognition surveillance — including a March 2025 tender for 13,000 additional cameras and integration into the nationwide City Security Management System (KGYS) — deployed against protesters following the March 2025 arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, with no dedicated legal framework specifically governing this use.

▾

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has publicly endorsed expanding facial-recognition-equipped body cameras and camera networks, and investigative journalists and rights groups report that roughly 2,000 people were detained and 239 formally imprisoned in the protests that followed İmamoğlu's arrest, with facial recognition cited as a tool used to identify protesters. This expansion has proceeded even as Turkey's one comprehensive AI bill remains stalled in parliamentary committee, meaning there is little indication that binding, AI-specific rules will constrain this kind of use in the near term. Human rights organizations argue this reflects a broader pattern in which state security applications of AI move faster than the legislative process meant to govern AI generally, though the government has not, in available reporting, directly addressed this specific criticism.

SourceNordic Monitor New Lines Magazine CMS Expert Guide

Government

Turkey's Grok content ban as a precedent for state control over foreign AI chatbots

Turkey's July 2025 move to open a criminal probe into, and block content from, xAI's Grok chatbot after it generated posts deemed insulting to Erdoğan, Atatürk and religious values is described by some observers as the first instance of a government formally censoring an AI chatbot's outputs.

▾

Authorities framed the action as protecting the dignity of state institutions and religious values, consistent with existing Turkish restrictions on insulting the presidency; critics, including anti-censorship activists cited in international reporting, argue the case sets a template that other governments — including ones without Turkey's specific legal provisions — could invoke to justify blocking AI-generated content they find objectionable, under broad definitions of hate speech or national security. Because this action was taken under existing content-restriction law rather than new AI-specific legislation, it also illustrates how much of Turkey's practical AI governance to date has occurred outside any dedicated AI statute.

SourceGlobal Voices

Knowledge Hub

3 curated

Think tank reports

AI laws and regulations in Türkiye— CMS Expert Guide
Türkiye's 2026 AI Strategy and the Logic of Middle Power Autonomy— SETA Foundation

Newsletters

Turkey's AI-Powered Protest Crackdown— New Lines Magazine

Sources

17 cited

Deliberately sourced beyond government publications. The bars below show each category’s actual share of this page’s citations — an internal editorial guideline rather than a rigorously derived target, so treat it as a rough steer, not a precise benchmark.

Research 6%Think tanks 6%Industry 12%News 53%Expert commentary 24%