ANALYSIS: "For many Turks, the Internet is a last oasis for freedom of expression"

Following the major traditional media in Turkey is like stepping into a bizarre parallel reality. Critical perspectives towards the government are as if enchanted.  

Now President Erdogan wants the same control online.  

"This is an attempt to expand the censorship apparatus to social media, one of the last free bastions in Turkey," Scott Griffin, International Press Institute, told news site Al-Monitor.  

"I would describe it as blackmailing the social media platforms" 

The new law requires digital platforms with more than one million users in Turkey to open local offices. Thus, international media companies undertake to disclose user data to Turkish authorities and to remove material no later than 48 hours after a Turkish court decision.

President Erdogan believes that the new law is necessary to protect citizens from what he calls "immoral threats". 

In April, Erdogan angered international tech companies when his daughter was subjected to an online lynching campaign after she shared a photo of her newborn baby.  

But Erdogan's critics do not believe in the pretext of protecting citizens. Yaman Akdeni, Turkish professor of law and cyber rights activist, says it is a matter of silencing opposition voices.  

"This is the beginning of a new dark period in Turkey," tweets Yaman Akdeniz.

The law provides cold conditions for millions of Turks who view the Internet as a last resort for free information and freedom of expression.

But the question is whether Turkey can technically restrict access to the international platforms. In the past, Turkey has blocked Twitter, Youtube and Wikipedia, but in practice it has been relatively easy to circumvent the bans with so-called VPN technology. 

Several experts warn that Turkey has strengthened the technical toolbox in order to be able to restrict access to digital platforms more effectively in practice.  

"Do not underestimate the Turkish government's ability to prevent even alternative methods of circumventing the blocking of sites and platforms in Turkey," said expert Yaman Akdeniz. 

So far, the tech companies are pretty quiet. The question is whether they will choose to fight the Turkish government or whether they will try to resolve the issue through dialogue and concessions.

Many Turkish network users are now addressing Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urging them not to give in to Turkey's demands.  

Right now, the hashtag "SansurYasasinaDurDe" is trending on Turkish Twitter, which means "stop the censorship law". It remains to be seen whether such a hashtag is even possible when the new law enters into force on 1 October.