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 Turkish Coup d’état , Gezi Park protests, Covid-19 Pandemic and Bogazici University 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

RTÜK, 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, RTÜK 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

Unlike RTÜK, 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 are a group of people 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. What initially begun as a protest for the conservation of green spaces soon turned into a mass gathering of thousands protesting Erdogan Regime. Social media played a significant role, as details of these protests as well as their coordination was handled through social media. There are reports suggesting that Turkish government cut the 3G access of Turkish people in order to prevent them from accessing this info. On June 12, Ibrahim Kalin, adviser to the President, had an on-air interview with Christiane Amanpour of CNN International and reiterated the notion that any claim that suggests these censorships was forged and these protests were unlawful. Christiane Amanpour cut the interview abruptly after Kalin denied these claims. In addition, two different pro-government Turkish media outlets televised a documentary about Penguins and a show about Turkish Cuisine while these protests were happening.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Turkey reported its first Covid-19 case on March 9th, 2020. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Fahrettin Koca, Minister of Health or Turkey, as well as other members of the cabinet were criticized for hiding the number of daily cases that Turkey had. Turkish Medical Association (TTB) called out Erdogan and asserted that the numbers they gathered did not match the official figures. Various instances documented by media outlets indicate that Erdogan administration denied these allegations. In order to cope with the spread of “Misinformation”, Erdogan called law-enforcement to take action based on social media activity (Twitter, YouTube, Instagram). There aren’t, however, any documented arrests to this date. As of November 2020, Turkish Government admitted excluding the number of asymptomatic cases in their counts and decided to label these patients as a separate group.

Turkish Minister of Health, Fahrettin Koca, during a press conference

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, Onursal Adigüzel, former vice-president of the Republican People's Party, 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.

Ethical Implications

The ethical implications related to the issue of censorship have been brought to attention by both Turkish and foreign people. For Turkey’s case of using censorship, the main justification given by the government is said to be preventing chaos and restoring peace in Turkey. This justification as well as the system of implementing censorship creates a conflict with other nations as some of the issues, like COVID-19, are universal, not local. To elaborate, some countries issued travel restrictions to Turkey during COVID-19 and some even labeled Turkey as a hot-zone. The answer to the bigger question of how to handle ethical problems that transcend border lines remains unclear.

Internet Law No. 5651 & Censorship Legality

Turkey adopted Internet Law No. 5651 in 2007. The law's declared objective was to protect families and minors, but it enactment and usage has created controversy. The Law was enacted following a ban on the popular internet platform Youtube. The ban, which occurred in response to anti-turkish videos, paved Turkey's path to heightened censorship. Since its inception, the law has been enforced in a restrictive fashion with frequent incidents of censorship against citizens, journalists, and media outlets. Law No. 5651 prohibits crimes against Atatürk, offering or promoting prostitution, providing place and opportunity for gambling, unauthorized online gambling and betting, sexual abuse of children, encouraging suicide, supplying drugs that are dangerous for health, and facilitation of the abuse of drugs. The law also blocks websites for the following reasons: downloading of MP3 and movies in violation of copyright laws, insults against state organizations and private persons, crimes related to terrorism, violation of trademark regulations, unfair trade regulated under the Turkish Commercial Code, and violation of Articles 24, 25, 26, and 28 of the Constitution (freedoms of religion, expression, thought, and freedom of press).

In February 2014, Turkish authorities adopted another controversial bill that amended the country's internet regulations. The bill allowed for the telecommunications authority (TIB) to block any website within 4 hours without first seeking a court ruling, and requires Internet providers to store all data on web users' activities for two years and make it available to the authorities upon request.