Istanbul – Turkey’s parliament on Wednesday passed controversial new legislation requiring platforms like Twitter and Facebook to comply with government requests to remove content and store data in the country. Critics say the move is an attempt to control social media and silence the opposition.
Under the new law, social media companies with more than a million daily users will have to open offices in Turkey and comply with government or individual demands to block and delete posts. If they refuse, they could be fined, block their ads, or see their bandwidth reduced by up to 90%, making them inaccessible. The law also requires that user data be stored in Turkey.
The bill was supported by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party and its nationalist ally. The popularity of social media has increased in recent years for those who wish to voice dissent and access independent news. Most of the mainstream media in Turkey are owned by companies that support the government and do not allow opposition opinions to be broadcast.
However, social media is also heavily watched in Turkey. According to the Twitter transparency report, Turkey had the highest number of content removal requests of any country, with more than 6,000 in the first half of 2019.
“News portals and social media platforms will also be asked to remove and remove news articles, content and accounts from their systems,” said Yaman Akdeniz, a law professor at Bilgi University in Istanbul, adding that the new law takes effect. In addition to other restrictions. “This is a new draconian measure that did not previously exist. This new measure will be used to clean up previous allegations of corruption and government irregularities. It will be the most important tool to curb political discourse on the Internet,” he said. .
The bill came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to take tighter control on social media in July in response to posts insulting his daughter and newborn grandson on Twitter.
“We cannot accept that 83 million Turkish citizens are tied hand and foot in the face of the terror of social networks while the Americans, Europeans and Chinese have this opportunity [mechanisms]”Erdogan said, claiming that similar laws were in force in other parts of the world.
Turkish President dislike for social media It is not new. Erdogan called it “the worst threat to society” in 2013 after organized popular protests online spread across the country.
Social media users are often threatened with legal action in Turkey. Since 2014, more than 100,000 people have been investigated and 30,000 have had to appear in court for insulting the Turkish president, according to human rights lawyer Kerem Kinik. Most of those cases, he says, were related to posts on social media.
Activists who often use social media platforms to organize protested against the new law. Melek Onder, from the group We Will Prevent Female Homicides, said that social networks allow women who suffer violence to mobilize support and pressure the authorities to take action.
“Now it is impossible to silence women and it is very difficult to implement this law in the 21st century, where information and technology are very accessible. But even if they try, women and the whole of society would defend themselves and find alternative ways,” Onder told CBS News.
Deputy Chairman of Turkey’s ruling AKP party, Mahir Unal, denied that the law aims to “shut down social media platforms or introduce a ban.” He said the new legislation “would protect people’s rights and stop the spread of disinformation on social media,” according to public broadcaster TRT Haber.
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