“We currently lack the ability to remove [only the] problematic content of Web sites, but will soon be able to. Our fight against undesired elements on the Internet will be limited to Web site content deemed problematic. Our judges will soon be briefed on the technology,” he said yesterday.Binali’s remarks came in the aftermath of harsh criticism from Turkish Internet users following the banning of popular blog-hosting services blogspot.com and blogger.com. Access to these sites was suspended on Friday in accordance with a decision of the Diyarbakır 1st Criminal Court of Peace. The court later announced that access to these services was blocked upon a complaint by Lig TV, the founding broadcaster of the Turkcell Super League. According to the complaint, the two blog-hosting services were enabling their users to watch soccer matches without any subscription to the TV station.
Several associations and activists advocating freedom of speech and expression heavily criticized the court for blocking access to the whole Web site instead of solely screening out unwanted content.
“The fight against elements that aim at degenerating societies and poisoning the youth and children is the fundamental task of each country. Every country has different regulations related to the Internet. Our aim is not to ban Web sites. Such measures will come to an end as soon as our courts are able to ban problematic content instead of entire Web sites,” Yıldırım went on to say.
More than 1,100 Web sites have been blocked in Turkey since November 2007. Web sites are most often banned on grounds of insulting the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, containing vulgarity, enabling gambling or promoting suicide. Many sites have also been banned for crimes covered under the Internet Security Law, but a number of sites are banned for no apparent reason.
Voices have grown louder against restrictions on Internet freedom, particularly following a ban on the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube. YouTube was banned by a controversial court decision in May 2008 for broadcasting videos deemed insulting to Atatürk and the concept of Turkishness, a sensitive issue in Turkey.
Other countries known to frequently ban Web sites include China, Iran, Armenia, Tunisia, Indonesia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
“Some Web sites, unfortunately, use their global popularity and show reluctance in complying with Turkish laws and regulations. If they say: ‘I am YouTube or Facebook, no one can interfere in my affairs. I am popular with the whole world,’ then we cannot let them do whatever they wish. Every Web site can operate in our country provided it obeys the rules and avoids committing or promoting crime,” Yıldırım remarked.
Despite widespread discontent with the ban and the emergence of alternate methods to access the site, the ban on YouTube remains in place.
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