Search results : 103

In one of the numerous cases brought against Turkey in relation to the right to freedom of expression and the rights of journalists, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that the arbitrary pre-trial detention of an investigative journalist had violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In Şık v. Turkey, the ECtHR found that a series of articles published on the website of Cumhuriyet, in the newspaper’s print edition, and in items posted on social media from the journalist’s Twitter account, had produced no sufficient basis for a reasonable suspicion that the...

Wikipedia has not been accessible in Turkey since 2017 upon a decision given by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (Bilgi Teknolojileri ve İletişim Kurumu - BTK) based on Article 8/A of Law No. 5651 on Regulating Broadcasting on the Internet and Fighting Against Crimes Committed through Internet Broadcasting. The procedure was initiated by the General Directorate of Security Affairs of the Prime Ministry on 28 July 2017 when it requested BTK to order Wikimedia Inc. to remove two Wikipedia articles entitled “State-Sponsored Terrorism” and “Foreign involvement...

In response to a request from the Gendarmerie General Command on 16 July 2019, the 3rd Penal Court of Peace in Ankara issued a ruling that blocked access to 136 news sites and social media accounts in Turkey. Order 2019/5538 was issued on the basis of Article 8/A of Act No. 5651 on the regulation of publications on the Internet, which allows judges to order the removal of, or block access to content in order to protect the right to life or the security of life and property, to protect national security and public order, to prevent a crime from being committed, or to protect public health. The blocked...

As previously reported in the IRIS Newsletter (IRIS 2018-10/25), the Regulation on Radio, Television, and Optional Broadcasting Services Provided on the Internet (Radyo, Televizyon ve İsteğe Bağlı Yayınların İnternet Ortamından Sunumu Hakkında Yönetmelik) entered into forced on 1 August 2019. The regulation is applicable to national and foreign broadcasters offering radio, television, and on-demand broadcasting services via the Internet. Such broadcasters could be either media service providers or platform operators, and the regulation leaves out of scope the individual communication services (excluding...

Under Article 82 of Law No. 7103 on Amendments to Tax Laws and to Some Laws and Executive Decrees amending the Law on Radio and Television Establishment and Broadcasting Services of 27 March 2018 (Sayılı Vergi Kanunları İle Bazı Kanun Ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun) new powers have been given to the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council - the RTUK), as reported in the last issue of IRIS Newsletter (see IRIS 2018-9/31). This regulation established the RTUK as the institution responsible for licensing broadcasting-service providers who offer online broadcasting...