Back to news

Turkey: Twitter is Back Online

April 3, 2014

Today, Turkish authorities lifted the ban on Twitter. See http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/03/us-turkey-twitter-idUSBREA320E...The decision comes after the Turkish Constitutional Court spelled out that the ban violated freedom of expression and individual rights in Turkey. “This is a major victory for democracy and freedom of expression in Turkey,” said Yaman Akdeniz. Akdeniz, a civil rights legal scholar and activist, challenged the ban before the Constitutional Court.

However, access to Youtube is still blocked in Turkey. Professor Akdeniz and others are preparing a new petition seeking to repel Youtube's blocking order as well. Akdeniz believes that the same principle applied by the Turkish Constitutional Court in the case of Twitter should also apply to YouTube: "[i}t is disproportionate to block an entire site because of some content that is deemed to be illegal.” We will keep you updated and wish that Turkish users will soon be able to access Youtube again.

This article was originally published at the CIS Blog Turkey: Twitter is Back Online
Date published: April 3, 2014
Country
Turkey
Topic, claim, or defense
General or Non-Specified
Freedom of Expression