Turkey Twitter Ban

[LazyLion]

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is considering banning YouTube and Facebook after local elections at the end of this month, according to remarks carried by local media Friday. Erdogan made the remarks on a late night television interview programme on Thursday, following the leaking of recordings of his private conversations, apparently through wiretaps. "We will not let YouTube and Facebook destroy our nation. We will take measures, including closure," said Erdogan, who has previously made comments against social media sites. YouTube had been banned in the country for two years and was recently unblocked. Local elections on March 30 will be a test of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party's popularity. The leaked recordings, which have not been verified, link Erdogan and his allies to corruption and attempts to control the media. The most recent recording, leaked online on social media sites, shows Erdogan criticizing a newspaper owner for his publication's coverage. The owner broke down in tears at the end of the call. Erdogan's camp has blamed the leaks on followers of US Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a one-time ally, but now a foe. Gulen commands respect among his followers, many of whom work in state institutions. On social media, several people remarked that at least the prime minister "didn't mention Twitter" in his latest comments on social media.


Source : Sapa-dpa /lk
Date : 07 Mar 2014 09:32

 

[LazyLion]

Twitter vows to defend privacy of Turkish users

Twitter on Monday pledged to protect the privacy of its users in Turkey, as the government stepped up efforts to intensify its blockade of the social media site. "Twitter remains committed to defending the privacy of our users in Turkey - we won't betray their trust," said a tweet from Twitter's public policy team. The message, sent out in Turkish and English, came amid growing speculation that the government is pressuring Twitter for information on its users. The government's ban on the site has been increasing in strength since Friday, when it first went into effect, after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to "root out" the social media platform in the wake of a widening corruption scandal. He has also made similar remarks against Facebook and YouTube. The video sharing site was banned intermittently in Turkey between 2007 and 2010. Despite the Twitter ban, tweeting in Turkey has remained strong, with some recent days showing a higher number of tweets than comparable periods prior to the ban. Erdogan's latest move has brought global attention to what opposition activists say is the increased authoritarianism of the prime minister. Western countries quickly condemned the Twitter block, with a US State Department official comparing it to modern-day book burning. Turkey heads for local elections on Sunday, with Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) likely to remain the largest party, though its popularity might decline when compared with previous ballots. Twitter was first blocked rather sloppily through the local DNS servers, but by Saturday the government had moved against Twitter's IP address, forcing users to use proxy networks to access the site. Since then, Twitter's link shortening system, t.co, has been blocked in the country too, as the authorities targeted subsidiary websites related to the company. According to Erdogan, social media sites have "shaken families to their roots." As such, they are a social ill that the government must fight. Yet, many senior AKP officials are on Twitter, and even President Abdullah Gul has defied the ban. Critics say the government has targeted Twitter as it is a means for anonymous users to post recordings linking the prime minister and his allies to serious corruption allegations. Four ministers were forced to resign in December, when prosecutors and the police announced arrests in a graft probe related to Iranian gold. Virtual private networks (VPNs), run by private companies, and the Tor network, an open-source project, have become popular means for users to circumvent the ban. More than 1 million downloads of VPNs were recorded over the weekend, according to data collectors. Several companies have publicly condemned Erdogan and promised to support Turkish users.


Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 24 Mar 2014 18:09

 

[LazyLion]

Turkish court orders halt to Twitter ban: Report

Turkey's Dogan news agency and other media say a court has issued a temporary injunction ordering the telecommunications authority to restore access to Twitter, five days after the government blocked the social network.

The telecommunications authority had accused Twitter of disobeying court orders to remove content. The ban came shortly after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to "rip out the roots" of the social network that has been a conduit for links to recordings suggesting government corruption. Many in Turkey found immediate ways to circumvent the ban.

Lawyers and the opposition party asked courts to overturn the Twitter ban, arguing it was illegal and unconstitutional.

It was not clear when or if the telecommunications authority would follow Wednesday's court order.


Source : Sapa-AP /lk
Date : 26 Mar 2014 12:43

 

[LazyLion]

TWITTER STILL BLOCKED IN TURKEY DESPITE COURT ORDER

Turkey's government faced growing pressure Thursday to quickly implement a top court order to unblock Twitter, which it had banned after damaging leaks had spread on the social media site.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the block on March 20 in the lead-up to last Sunday's key local elections, in which his party won sweeping wins despite online allegations of corruption.

On Wednesday Turkey's Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that the Twitter ban was a breach of free speech, and ordered the communications ministry and telecommunications authority TIB to reverse it "with immediate effect".

The US-based micro-blogging service reacted quickly after the court ruling, tweeting: "We welcome this Constitutional Court ruling and hope to have Twitter access restored in Turkey soon."

But although the ruling was published Thursday morning in Turkey's Official Gazette, by mid-morning the service still remained unavailable in Turkey.

Sezgin Tanrikulu, a lawmaker for the main opposition Republican People's Party, said he would lodge a complaint unless the government abides by the court ruling, warning that defying it "would mean an abuse of power".

Tanrikulu -- who was among the group that had lodged the complaint with the Supreme Court -- warned that the ruling is "binding for everyone, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who does not recognise the law".

President Abdullah Gul, a regular user of Twitter, also said the ban on Twitter as well as on video-sharing service YouTube should be reversed.

"The bans on Twitter and YouTube now need to be lifted. I've expressed this to the minister and to the authorities," Gul was quoted as saying by Hurriyet newspaper on Thursday, while on a visit to Kuwait.

A US State Department spokeswoman had Wednesday told a regular Washington media briefing: "If there has been a court decision, we think it needs to be implemented quickly, as quickly as possible".

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule tweeted: "Good news for freedom of expression in Turkey: Constitutional Court orders lifting of Twitter ban. Looking forward to swift enforcement!"

But a lawmaker from Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) suggested Thursday that the court ruling may not be implemented immediately.

"It is only about individual complaints to the Constitutional Court," Mustafa Sentop told CNN-Turk television. "We will evaluate the verdict."

TIB declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Since December, Twitter had been used to anonymously release a spate of audio recordings that purported to expose corruption involving Erdogan's family and his political and business allies.

The ban has been widely circumvented by Twitter users, who instead sent tweets via text message or by adjusting their Internet settings.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 03 Apr 2014 12:01

 

[LazyLion]

TURKEY PM CRITICISES COURT RULING LIFTING TWITTER BAN

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday criticised a Constitutional Court ruling that lifted his government's March 20 ban on Twitter.

"We are of course bound by the Constitutional Court verdict, but I don't have to respect it," said the premier, a day after the social media site went live again in Turkey. "I don't respect this ruling."


Source : Sapa-AFP /ma
Date : 04 Apr 2014 08:50

 

[LazyLion]

TURKEY COURT ORDERS END TO YOUTUBE BAN

A Turkish court on Friday ruled that the government's blanket ban on video-sharing platform YouTube must be lifted, following Thursday's ruling by the Constitutional Court forcing an end to a black out of Twitter. The Court of Peace in Ankara said the ban on YouTube should be lifted as soon as possible. Though Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government yesterday enforced the Constitutional Court's decision to reverse the Twitter ban, the premier said he did not respect the ruling. The government first banned Twitter on March 21, and blocked YouTube a week later, just before local elections.


Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 04 Apr 2014 12:43