Türkiye's Education Ministry has ordered schools nationwide to remove publicly accessible photographs and videos of students unless parental consent has been obtained, as part of new rules aimed at strengthening the protection of personal data.

The directive requires schools to review their websites and social media accounts and remove previously published content containing students' images or personal information.

The ministry said legal action would be taken against unauthorised access or misuse.

School staff have also been instructed to complete mandatory training on personal data protection and information security.

The guidance comes as some teachers in Türkiye have built large followings on platforms including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube by posting classroom interactions featuring students that have attracted millions of views.

The trend has sparked backlash online over concerns that it infringes on students' privacy.

Similar concerns have emerged elsewhere. In Spain, educators and legal experts have criticised the rise of so-called “TeachTokers” who use pupils’ images and classroom interactions for self-promotion.

The directive by the Turkish Education Ministry also comes as technology companies and regulators face increasing scrutiny over online privacy. 

Last week, Meta withdrew a newly launched Instagram AI feature that allowed users to generate images using content from public accounts after criticism that it raised privacy and consent concerns.

Before it was pulled, users with public Instagram accounts were automatically opted in, which meant others could use their publicly available photos to create AI-generated or altered images without their knowledge or explicit consent. 

Meta later said it had “missed the mark” and that the feature was “no longer available.”