Censorship in Turkey

Introduction

The concept of Censorship in Turkey dates back to 1920’s and played an important role throughout Turkish history. The first notable instance can be traced back to the Atatürk era, where Republic of Turkey banned the distribution of Islamic material in movies in an effort to modernize Turkey. More recent and notable instances of censorship include 1980 Coup d’état, Gezi Park protests, Turkish Presidential Elections, Covid-19 Pandemic and Bogazici Univeristy Protests.

Historically, the word censorship has been used to describe the instances in which publication, distribution and expression of resources and ideas are suppressed or prohibited in order to preserve national security and assert power and authority over people. In order to make the notion of censorship less ambiguous, Chuck Stone, Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, came up with an alternative definition for censorship: "The cyclical suppression, banning, expurgation, or editing by an individual, institution, group or government that enforces or influences its decision against members of the public of any written or pictorial materials which that individual, institution, group or government deems obscene and 'utterly without redeeming social value' as determined by 'contemporary community standards.'"

As digital transformation and social media platforms took a greater role in communication and exchange of ideas in today’s world, censorship in Turkey also became centralized around digital, emerging technologies with the purpose of controlling what is being published, spread and accessed. Starting in 1994, Turkish government started utilizing different actors including RTÜK (Radio and Television Supreme Council), Pool Media (Partisan Media), and government sponsored AK Trolls. While most of these alleged interventions and examples are documented, Turkish government publicly denies any involvement in such instances and calls these documents forged.

RTÜK, Pool Media and AK Trolls

RTÜK

RTUK, also known as the Radio and Television Supreme Council, is responsible for closely monitoring, regulation and intervening, if necessary, with radio and television broadcast published and distributed to Turkish people through various channels. As the members of the board are appointed by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, politics is often viewed as a driver in implementing policies. Their most notable sanctions include the ban on TV Series Gossip Girl, Cukur (The Pit), Sex and the City 2. When asked for the reasoning behind these bans, RTUK responded by saying the content presented in these works imply and support "the violation the national and moral values of the community and Turkish family structure" and the impairment of the physical, mental, and moral development of young people and children"

Pool Media

Pool Media: Unlike RTUK, Pool Media is an unofficial word incorporated in Turkish slang by those who oppose the incumbent administration. The term “Pool Media’ refers to Media corporations and organizations that are often used to control the material that is being circulated on news, internet or newspapers. Since the term was coined by the opposition, it is often used to criticize media ignorance as well as their implementation of censorship to block access to information.

AK Trolls

AK Trolls: AK Trolls are a group of bots deployed by the AKP (Justice and Development Party) in order to control what information is being circulated in the media as well as how a particular issue is analyzed. During the summer of 2020, Twitter announced that it would archive 7340 accounts that were managed by AK Trolls that were previously used to promote the political agenda of AKP.

Gezi Park Protests and Censorship

Gezi Park Protests are known as organized demonstrations in order to prevent the ruling administration from going forward with their plans of pedestrianizing the Gezi Park, one of the few green spaces in Europe side of Turkey.

Mandatory Offices for Technology Companies

On July 29, 2020, Turkish lawmakers passed a new legislation that forces Social Media Companies like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Netflix to set up offices in Turkey, thereby laying the groundwork for Turkish lawmakers to hold these companies accountable for the information that is being circulated on these platforms. This legislation gathered international attention, as prominent media agencies like The New York Times, Reuters and Arab News reported the legislation in their newspapers. In addition, Umit Kocasakal, former president of the Istanbul Bar Association, stated that since having local offices put these companies under Turkish jurisdiction, this legislation creates a legal framework for monitoring social media activity directly. However, Erdogan administration ensured Turkish people that they have no direct access to these platforms and can only access through a court order.