As Egypt is slowly becoming one of the most anti-journalist-friendly nations, Turkey is also marking its place as one of the strictest countries in terms of freedom of expression.
This week the Turkish Parliament has approved a new Internet law- receiving worldwide criticism as it allows administration of current Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to limit access to information and journalism.
After many hours of debate, the Party of Justice and Development (JDP) reached a majority with 319 of the 350 members of the Turkish National Assembly. The new law allows a government agency, the Telecommunications Authority of Turkey, to block access to websites with “insulting” content without a judicial authorization. Also, there is a clause in the law that states that the Telecommunications Authority can store users’ “search” history for a maximum of two years, another worrisome addition to the excessive control the Turkish government is placing over its population’s use of the Internet.
According to the current legislation, signed in 2007, websites (including blogs such as Wordpress and exchange services of videos such as Vimeo) have been temporarily blocked by a judicial order. Youtube, on the other hand, stayed precariously out of reach of this legislative package until 2010.
This new law is coming at a time when Erdogan is struggling to give Turkey a new make-over after the violent protests of 2013 that dragged the emerging economy into a pit of instability. Even more worrisome, Erdogan’s administration has been recently shamed following a corruption scandal, reason for which these judicial reforms couldn’t have better timing.
Human rights organizations and activists fear that the real objective of these measures is to increase cyber-censorship and governmental control of the Internet so as to guarantee strict surveillance.
The Committee to Protect Journalists labeled this act the beginning “towards authoritarianism in Internet.” Even the Turkey Industry and Business Association suggested that this new law will originate a conflict with the principles regarding balance of power, and will increase censorship that will likely discourage potential investors. The TUSAID has also added that the right to privacy is already protected by the existing legislation and that this new law could provoke violations of human rights.
The Commission of the European Union has expressed its distress over this new law established by the Turkish Parliament, as it believes that it poses various restrictions on the freedom of expression. In fact, the European institution has insisted that the law be revised in order to guarantee that it fulfills the “European standards”, as Turkey is a candidate to become part of the EU and it needs to respect the necessary criteria. As Erdogan tries to balance his country’s interests without jeopardizing its much-coveted possible EU entrance, it looks like Turkey is, once again, stuck in the middle.
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Photo Friday: As Internet Censorship Increases, Will Turkey Become the New China?
February 7, 2014
As Egypt is slowly becoming one of the most anti-journalist-friendly nations, Turkey is also marking its place as one of the strictest countries in terms of freedom of expression.
This week the Turkish Parliament has approved a new Internet law- receiving worldwide criticism as it allows administration of current Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to limit access to information and journalism.
After many hours of debate, the Party of Justice and Development (JDP) reached a majority with 319 of the 350 members of the Turkish National Assembly. The new law allows a government agency, the Telecommunications Authority of Turkey, to block access to websites with “insulting” content without a judicial authorization. Also, there is a clause in the law that states that the Telecommunications Authority can store users’ “search” history for a maximum of two years, another worrisome addition to the excessive control the Turkish government is placing over its population’s use of the Internet.
According to the current legislation, signed in 2007, websites (including blogs such as Wordpress and exchange services of videos such as Vimeo) have been temporarily blocked by a judicial order. Youtube, on the other hand, stayed precariously out of reach of this legislative package until 2010.
This new law is coming at a time when Erdogan is struggling to give Turkey a new make-over after the violent protests of 2013 that dragged the emerging economy into a pit of instability. Even more worrisome, Erdogan’s administration has been recently shamed following a corruption scandal, reason for which these judicial reforms couldn’t have better timing.
Human rights organizations and activists fear that the real objective of these measures is to increase cyber-censorship and governmental control of the Internet so as to guarantee strict surveillance.
The Committee to Protect Journalists labeled this act the beginning “towards authoritarianism in Internet.” Even the Turkey Industry and Business Association suggested that this new law will originate a conflict with the principles regarding balance of power, and will increase censorship that will likely discourage potential investors. The TUSAID has also added that the right to privacy is already protected by the existing legislation and that this new law could provoke violations of human rights.
The Commission of the European Union has expressed its distress over this new law established by the Turkish Parliament, as it believes that it poses various restrictions on the freedom of expression. In fact, the European institution has insisted that the law be revised in order to guarantee that it fulfills the “European standards”, as Turkey is a candidate to become part of the EU and it needs to respect the necessary criteria. As Erdogan tries to balance his country’s interests without jeopardizing its much-coveted possible EU entrance, it looks like Turkey is, once again, stuck in the middle.
