Defenders of freedom of expression see it as another attempt by Ankara to muzzle social media. The Turkish parliament adopted very early Wednesday, July 29, a bill, supported by the presidential majority, to expand the control of the authorities on social networks. 

This law notably obliges the main social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to have a representative in Turkey and to comply with the injunctions of Turkish courts asking for the removal of certain content, under penalty of a heavy fine.

According to the Justice and Development Party (AKP, Islamo-conservative), the formation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this law aims to put an end to online insults. In early July, the Turkish president called for "tidying up" in social networks after his daughter and son-in-law were targeted by abuse on Twitter.

"A Dark Period of Online Censorship"

But this text arouses the concern of many Internet users and NGOs while social networks have become one of the rare spaces where critical voices still dare to be heard in Turkey. "Social networks are of capital importance for many people who use them for information. This law heralds a dark period of online censorship," Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

The law passed Wednesday "will strengthen the government's capacity to censor digital content and prosecute Internet users," Andrew Gardner, researcher on Turkey at the NGO Amnesty International, said in a statement.

"This is a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression online," he added, stressing that many Turkish internet users are already self-censoring "for fear of irritating the authorities".

Twitter and Facebook are already closely watched by the Turkish authorities and many trials for "insulting the head of state" or "terrorist propaganda" are based solely on one or a few tweets.

NGOs are concerned about the erosion of freedom of expression in Turkey and increased control of social media could also limit Turkish access to independent or critical information, in a landscape dominated by pro-government media. According to Twitter's latest "transparency report", Turkey was in the first half of 2019 the top countries requesting the removal of content on Twitter with more than 6,000 requests.

With AFP

The summary of the week France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR