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Hurriyet Daily News: Banning websites (I)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010
JOOST LAGENDIJK

It was a big success, last Saturday. More than a thousand people gathered in Taksim Square to protest against restrictions on the Internet. Among the demonstrators were nongovernmental organizations calling for freedom of the Internet, representatives of Internet sites and their readers and employees of private enterprises who are negatively affected by Internet censorship. For the first time, more than fifty NGOs, civil initiatives, human rights organizations and online communities managed to form a ‘Common Platform Against Internet Censorship’ (www.sansursuzinternet.org.tr) that will continue to protest against what was called ‘unlawful and arbitrary efforts to control the Internet.’

Three years ago, few people expected things to turn so nasty. In May 2007, the Turkish government enacted Law no. 5651 to regulate publications on the Internet and to suppress crimes committed by these publications. It was a reaction to concerns about defamatory videos available on the popular video sharing website YouTube involving the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. But the law was also meant to deal with the growing number of websites showing child pornography and other obscene content and sites providing information about suicide and drugs.

In the first year after its adoption, the most well-known application of Law no. 5651 concerned YouTube. After several Turkish courts ruled against the site because it showed some amateurish Greek videos bashing Atatürk, the Ankara 1st Criminal Court of Peace issued the final blocking order in May 2008.

At that time, few people took the ban particularly seriously. Many, including myself, thought this was a rearguard action by some old fashioned members of the judiciary that would lead nowhere because everybody, including the government, would soon recognize that in this day and age, the banning of websites does not make sense. I remember Egemen Bağış, the chief EU negotiator, when questioned in the European Parliament on the YouTube ban in 2008, telling the parliamentarians with a big smile that this was a temporary nuisance and that his son had shown him how to circumvent the ban for the time being. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made similar remarks when journalists reminded him that access to YouTube was blocked. ‘I can get in,’ he replied, ‘and you can get in as well.’

The whole ban seemed ridiculous, soon to be overhauled by reality and common sense. The mood of many was captured well by a reaction on Internet, saying: ‘Some pimply teenager in Greece who slapped some rouge on an Atatürk picture and made a silly video must be feeling an incredible sense of power now. Through an act that should have been interpreted as nothing more than a demonstration of immaturity, he’s managed to prevent the 75 million inhabitants of Turkey from accessing a site in which Turkey’s culture, beauty and music can be shared with millions around the world. How little trust the people behind this continuing ban must have in Atatürk’s ability to survive a childish video, and their citizens’ ability to decide for themselves what to watch or not.’ But this was only the beginning.

In January of this year, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, of which Turkey is a member, published a damning report on Internet censorship in Turkey. It was prepared by one of the people who saw the dangers of Law no. 5651 from the beginning, Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, associate professor at Istanbul Bilgi University. According to the report, up until December 2009, access to approximately 3,700 websites had been blocked under Law no. 5651. More about the conclusions of the report and the damage done to the perception of Turkey abroad in my next column.

OSCE Press release – OSCE media freedom representative asks Turkey to withdraw recent Internet blocking provisions, calls for urgent reform of law

OSCE media freedom representative asks Turkey to withdraw recent Internet blocking provisions, calls for urgent reform of law

VIENNA, 22 June 2010 – Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, today urged the Turkish authorities to restore access to YouTube and other services offered by Google, and bring the much-criticized Law No. 5651 – known as the Internet Law – in line with international standards on free expression.

‘I ask the Turkish authorities to revoke the blocking provisions that prevent citizens from being part of today’s global information society. I also ask them to carry out a very much needed reform of Law No. 5651,’ said Mijatovic.

In a letter sent to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Mijatovic expressed concern about new blocking provisions imposed earlier this month.

‘I am alarmed by the decision of the Turkish Telecommunications Communication Presidency to block access to dozens of Internet Protocol addresses related to YouTube and Google services. As a result, since early June several services related to Google – including popular services like Analytics or Translate – have been either unattainable, or access to them has become very slow,’ she wrote.

The alleged reason behind the block is an unsettled tax dispute between the Ministry of Transport and Communication and Google, the owner of YouTube. ‘But even the widely criticized Internet Law does not include tax disputes among the reasons that it cites as cause for blocking websites,’ the Representative said.

‘My Office has been promoting the urgent reform of Law No. 5651, because it considerably limits freedom of expression and severely restricts citizens’ right to access information,’ she added.

‘More than 5,000 websites have been blocked in Turkey during the last two years. The recent blocking is a worrisome indicator that instead of allowing free access to the Internet, new ways have emerged that can further restrict the free flow of information in the country.’

The legal review of Law No. 5651, commissioned by the OSCE in January 2010, can be downloaded here: http://www.osce.org/item/42294.html

Bianet: Internet Censorship: Turkey “Under Surveillance” of RSF

Reporters Without Borders added Turkey and Russia to the organization’s ‘under surveillance’ list published in the latest report on 12 March. ‘Taboo topics’ for Turkey are quoted as mainly related to Atatürk, the army, minorities and the dignity of the nation.

Erol ÖNDEROĞLU – hukuk@bianet.org
Paris – BİA News Center
15 March 2010, Monday

The international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has recently added Turkey and Russia to their ‘under surveillance’ list regarding internet censorship. This was announced in a joint press release of RSF Secretary General Jean-François Julliard and Lucie Morillon, head of the New Media Desk.

‘In Turkey, taboo topics mainly deal with Ataturk, the army, issues concerning minorities (notably Kurds and Armenians) and the dignity of the Nation’, RSF indicates.
Ban of YouTube and probable judicial reprisals

The organization warns other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, Belarus and Thailand, ‘which are also maintaining their ‘under surveillance’ status, but will need to make more progress to avoid getting transferred into the next ‘Enemies of the Internet’ list’.

RSF emphasized that ‘the fight for free access to information is being played out to an ever greater extent on the Internet. In Turkey, several thousand sites have been blocked, thereby triggering a great deal of protest. Bloggers and netizens who express themselves freely on such topics may well face judicial reprisals’.

Enemies of the Internet

RSF describes the internet in Russia as the ‘freest space for sharing information’, ‘aside from the control exercised by the Kremlin on most of its media outlets’. However, RSF draws attention to existing constraints: ‘Yet its independence is being jeopardized by blogger arrests and prosecutions, as well as by blockings of so-called ‘extremist’ websites. The regime’s propaganda is increasingly omnipresent on the Web. There is a real risk that the Internet will be transformed into a tool for political control’.

The following countries are listed as ‘Enemies of the Internet’: Saudi Arabia, Burma, China, North Korea, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Uzbekistan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.

Assessment of Turkey

According to the European Security and Cooperation Organization (OSCE), Turkey banned access to about 3,700 internet sites mostly for ‘arbitrary and political reasons’. The majority of these sites are of foreign origin, deal with the Kurdish question or aim at homosexual communities.

There is no doubt that the most well known incident in the media is the global video sharing site YouTube. The site has been banned since May 2008 because of videos that allegedly affronted the remembrance of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the modern Turkish nation, and clips that were supposed to constitute an attack of the Turkish nation.

Between March 2007 and June 2008, different courts took a total of 47 decisions related to the access ban of YouTube. The Internet Technology Association (İNETD) applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the grounds of violating the right to freedom of expression. MySpace.com was blocked for the duration of one month in September 2009 by reason of ‘violating copyrights’.

The report furthermore mentions the access bans imposed on Günlük newspaper and istanbul.indymedia.org, trials against Barış Yarkadaş from Gerçek Gündem and Ali Barış Kurt and Mehmet Kökçüoğlu from the Güneşin Çocukları (‘Children of the sun’) website and the punishments handed down to Hacı Boğatekin from gerger.fırat.net and Cumali Badur from Gergerim.com.

Additionally, the report addresses the issue of gazetevatan.com website publishing director Ayiln Duruoğlu and Devrimci Hareket magazine employee Mehmet Yeşiltepe, who were detained for ten months and touches on the hacking of the website of Armenian Agos newspaper by a self-declared admirer of the murderer of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. (EÖ/VK)

OSCE concerned over ban on internet freedoms in Turkey

02 February 2010, Tuesday
ABDULLAH BOZKURT STRASBOURG

A senior official at the world’s largest intergovernmental organization focusing on media freedoms has lambasted Turkey for imposing restrictions on Internet sites and criticized media accreditation methods to ban reporters from attending press conferences.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) media representative Miklos Haraszti told Today’s Zaman in Strasbourg last week that Turkey needs to reform or abolish Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law, which restricts access to popular Web sites including video-sharing Web site YouTube. He also warned that changes made to notorious Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which makes it a crime to attack the Turkish nation in the media, are inadequate and that the government simply needs to get rid of that law.

‘It puts Turkey in bad company with countries like Iran and China, though Turkey is basically a free country,’ Haraszti said, stressing that Turkey should either reform or abolish the Internet Law in its current form. He warned that the practice is simply not in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards on freedom of expression. ‘The government does have tools to go after illegitimate sites and punish those who violate laws. But do not block whole access to Web sites. It is not solving problems,’ he remarked.

The OSCE has recently issued a report on restrictions on the Internet in Turkey and criticizes current practices. ‘At present, 3,700 Internet sites are blocked in Turkey, including YouTube, GeoCities and Google sites. Even as some of the content that is deemed ‘bad,’ such as child pornography, must be sanctioned, the law is unfit to achieve this. Instead, by blocking access to entire Web sites in Turkey, it paralyzes access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks,’ Haraszti stated, when announcing the report.

With respect to the amended Article 301, Haraszti emphasized that the government had not done enough in reforming the law. ‘Basically it was not a reform. The decision making was moved from the judiciary to the political level. That benefitted journalists because much less or no cases were allowed to proceed,’ he said. According to the amended law, any case brought against writers and media professionals requires the approval of the justice minister.

Article 301 criminalizes insulting ‘the Turkish nation.’ Before the current government passed an amendment, the crime of ‘insulting Turkishness’ was far more serious and broadly prosecuted, which led to the conviction of numerous intellectuals for criticizing the nation and the state. The government’s recent changes to the TCK now require the justice minister’s approval to take someone to court over Article 301 violations, thus eliminating prosecutorial discretion.

The OSCE media representative argued that this is not a solution. ‘The law is still there. The government cannot dictate solutions in every law. For now, the government has undertaken the political responsibility, and they are holding the [line] tight. But it cannot go on forever like this,’ he underlined, urging the complete abolishment of the notorious article.

Haraszti further noted concern over the usage of media accreditation as a censorship tool against media outlets. ‘Obviously we have concerns over these matters and noted it in our reports,’ he said. The Zaman Media Group, which also publishes Today’s Zaman, has not been allowed to cover the press briefings by the chief of General Staff because the group was not extended accreditation by the military.

Aşağıdaki haberi yapan Atılım 5651 sayılı Kanun’un kapsamı dışında erişime engellenmiş sitelerden bir tanesi…

AGİT: İnternet sansürü siyasi ve keyfi

İSTANBUL (19.01.2010)- Avrupa İşbirliği ve Güvenlik Teşkilatı (AGİT) tarafından Türkiye’de internet sansürü üzerine hazırlanan rapora göre; 2 yılda 3700 site erişime engellendi. Raporu hazırlayan Bilgi Üniversitesi’nden Doç. Akdeniz, engelleme kararlarını siyasi ve keyfi olarak değerlendirdi.

Avrupa İşbirliği ve Güvenlik Teşkilatı (AGİT), “Türkiye’de medya özgürlüğü ve internet sansürü” başlıklı raporunu yayınladı.

AGİT’in talebi doğrultusunda İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi İnsan Hakları Hukuku Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi’nden Doç. Dr. Yaman Akdeniz tarafından hazırlanan rapora göre; 2007 yılında medya ve internet üzerine kısıtlamalar getiren 5651 sayılı yasaya dayanılarak 3700 websitesi engellendi. Raporda, sansürlenen siteler arasında atilim.org, indymedia.org, firatnews.com, gundem-online.net, ankarasgd.org, devrimcikarargah.com, youtube.com, Geocities ile eşcinsellerin seslerini duyurdukları siteler, İslami içerikli siteler de bulunuyor.

Şeffaflık yok

Raporda Türk devletinin medya ve internet sitelerine yönelik engellemelerinin hukuki olmadığı, mahkemelerin, adil kararlar vermediği, medya ve sitelere yönelik engellemelerde Telekominikasyon İletişim Başkanlığı (TİB) ve mahkemelerin şeffaflık ilkesini yok saydığı vurgulandı. TİB’in 2009 Mayıs ayından bu yana engellemeye yönelik istatistikleri yayınlamamasının geri bir adım olduğu belirtilen raporda, 5651 sayılı yasanın da Avrupa İnsan Hakları Anlaşması’nın 10. maddesine aykırı olduğu kaydedildi.

Rapora göre; 2008 Mayıs ve 2009 Mayıs arasında 2601 web sitesi engellenirken, bunlardan sadece 475′i mahkeme kararlarına dayandırıldı Geriye kalan 2126 web sitesi, TİB’in keyfi uygulamaları nedeniyle kapatıldı.

Akdeniz: Kararlar siyasi ve keyfi

Raporu hazırlayan Doç. Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, muhabirimize yaptığı değerlendirmede, “5651 sayılı yasa, özellikle pornografik içerikli sitelere erişimi engellemek için çıkarıldı. 8 tane de internet suçlarıyla ilgili madde konuldu. Ancak böyle bir yasa çıksa da var olan sorunlar ortadan kalkmıyor” dedi.

Engelleme kararlarının sadece 5651 sayılı yasa uyarınca alınması gerektiğini belirten Akdeniz, ancak çoğu kapatma kararının TMY ve 301 gibi yasalara dayandırıldığını belirtti. Akdeniz, 197 sitenin 5651 sayılı yasa kapsamı dışındaki nedenlerle kapatıldığını söyleyerek, bir-iki haber yüzünden toplumun siteye erişemediğine dikkat çekti. Gazetelerin kanuna aykırı haber taşıdığında toplatıldığını hatırlatan Akdeniz, sitelerin sonsuza kadar kapatılmasının yanlış olduğunu ifade etti.

Akdeniz, bir çok sitenin, siyasi ve keyfi biçimde kapatıldığını, kapatılma gerekçelerinin açıklanmadığını ve kararlara itiraz edilemediğini kaydetti. Böylece hukuki mücadelenin de önünün tıkandığına dikkat çekti.

AGİT Temsilcisi: Bilgiye ulaşım engelleniyor

Avrupa Güvenlik ve İşbirliği Teşkilatı (AGİT) Medya Özgürlüğü Temsilcisi Miklos Haraszti de 5651 sayılı yasanın yasakçı ve bilgiye erişim ilkelerine aykırı olduğunu belirtti. Haraszti, “Çocuk pornografisi gibi zararlı içeriği engellemek gerekir, ama Türkiye’deki mevcut yasa bunun yerine topyekün engelleme getirerek en kıymetli bilgiye erişimi de engelliyor” diye konuştu.

Haraszti, yurt içinde sitelere uygulanan erişim yasaklarının önemli kısmının keyfi ve siyasi olduğunun altını çizdi ve bunun Türkiye’nin de taraf olduğu AGİT’in ifade özgürlüğü şartlarına aykırı olduğu uyarısında bulundu. Haraszti, 5651 sayılı yasanın fesedilmesi gerektiğini vurguladı, Türkiyeli yetkililere seslenerek internete uygulanan yasaların acilen AGİT standartlarına getirilmesini istedi.

Türkiye’de medyanın durumunu da değerlendiren Haraszti, “Ülkede yasal çerçeve hala ifade özgürlüğünü güvence altına almaktan uzak. Ceza Yasası da hala medya çalışanlarının işini yapmasını engelliyor” değerlendirmesinde bulundu.

BBC Turkce – Haberler – Türkiye’de erişim yasakları

Türkiye’de erişim yasakları, 19 Ocak 2010 – TSİ 20:11
Faik Uyanık, BBC Türkçe Bölümü

Türkiye, Avrupa Güvenlik ve İşbirliği Teşkilatı’nın yayımladığı bir rapora göre, 2010 yılına toplam 3.700 yasaklı internet sitesi ile girdi.
İnternet sitesi

Raporun yazarları her ay yasak listesine 200 site daha girdiğini söylüyor

AGİT’e göre bazı yasak kararları ‘keyfi ve siyasi nedenlerle’ alınıyor.

Örgüt, Türkiye’nin ifade özgürlüğü yolundaki taahhütlerini yerine getirmek için yasalarında reform yapması gerektiği uyarısında bulundu.

En çok sözü edilen yasa ise İnternet yasası olarak da bilinen 5651 sayılı kanun.

Teşkilatın medya özgürlüğü temsilcisi Miklos Haraszti, Türkiye’de ‘uygunsuz içeriğe sahip’ denerek erişimi engelleme için 7 ayrı gerekçe sıralandığını söylüyor:

‘Bu gerekçelerden biri cumhuriyetin kurucusunun korunmasına ilişkin. Diğer gerekçeler ise TCK’nın 301′inci maddesine ilişkin içeriğin barındırılması gibi şeyler. Bunu dışında ise uluslararası kabul görmüş uygunsuz içeriğe ilişkin olanlar. Örneğin çocuk pornosu, uyuşturucuya teşvik gibi uygunsuz içerikler bunlar. Sözkonusu yasa her ne kadar saygı duyulması gereken bazı gerekçeler saysa da, bazı siyasi ve keyfi gerekçeler de içeriyor.’

Haraszti, ‘İçerik üreticilerini değil kullanıcıları cezalandıran bir durum var Türkiye’de’ diyor.

Çin ve İran örnekleri

AGİT medya özgürlüğü temsilcisi Miklos Haraszti Google arama motorunun sansürle ve internet korsanlığı ile mücadele etmek zorunda kaldığı, Facebook, Twitter gibi sitelerin yasak olduğu Çin gibi örnekler karşısında Türkiye’deki durumun biraz daha başka bir yerde durduğunu söylüyor:

‘Çin ya da İran ile Türkiye’deki uygulamaları arasında büyük farklar var. İran ve Çin’de interneti kullanıcılar açısından erişilemez bir yer haline getiren siyasi bir amaç var. Türkiye’de ise amaç farklı. Bazı içerikler yasaklanıyor. Bunların da küçük bir kısmı, örneğin Atatürk hakkındaki yasaklar, siyasi… Ama tüm interneti felç eden bir durum yok.’
İnternet sayfasına bakan kullanıcı

Uygunsuz içerik durumunda sitelere erişim duruyor

‘Ancak maalesef bu yasa yine de Türkiye’yi Çin ve İran ile aynı grubun içine olmasa da, bir anlamda ‘civar semtlere’ yerleştiriyor.Çünkü ortaya çıkan sonuçlar aynı. Youtube’a erişilemiyor. Google’a bağlı başlıca birtakım sitelere erişilemiyor. Ne kadar büyük olurlarsa olsunlar sosyal paylaşım siteleri ufacık bir uygunsuz içerik nedeniyle her an tümden kapatılabilecek durumda.’

‘Türkiye bize göre bu durumu bir sinyal olarak algılamalı ve isminin bu gibi ülkelerle anılmasından kaçınmalı.’

Haraszti bu durumun değişmesi konusunda da Ankara’da pek bir işaret görmediğini belirtiyor.

‘Ankara’da deyim yerindeyse ‘internet sansürü ile ilgili’ kurumun bu konuyla ilgili bölüm başkanı ile yaptığımız görüşmede, yasanın iyi yazılmış olduğunu söyledi bize. Çünkü yasanın internette siyasi nedenlerle yasaklamaları içermediğini düşünüyordu. Bizim yayınladığımız son rapordaki tavsiyemizin ise Türk makamlarının bu konuda yeniden düşünmelerini sağlayacağını, uygunsuzluğu mutlak olan içerik üreticilerinin nasıl cezalandırılacağı hakkında başka bir yöntem bulacaklarını ve yasadaki siyasi gerekçeleri kaldıracaklarını düşünüyoruz.’ diye anlatıyor.

Türkiye’deki internet yasaklarına ilişkin raporun yazarı olan, Bilgi Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi’nden İnternet hukuku uzmanı Dr. Yaman Akdeniz de Türkiye’nin bu konudaki tartışmaların artmasıyla birlikte, erişim engelleme istatistiklerini Mayıs 2009′dan bu yana yayınlanmadığına dikkat çekiyor.

O tarihte açıklanan son resmi rakamın 2601 siteye engelleme yapıldığı şeklinde olduğunu belirten Akdeniz, her ay 200 siteye engelleme yapıldığını tespit ettiğini, raporda verilen sayının da bu ortalamayı yansıttığını belirtiyor.

Haraszti gibi, Akdeniz de yasal çerçevenin iyileşmesine ilişkin fazla umutlu konuşmuyor.

5651 sayılı kanunun asıl amacı olarak ifade ettiği çocukları ve aileleri korumak hedefinde, kapsam dışına da çıkıldığı eleştirisinde de bulunan Akdeniz’e göre erişim engelleri ‘kendini kandırma’ etkisi yapıyor, ‘çünkü yasaklar hedeflenen alanda ihlalleri önlemiyor, teknik olaraksa bu sitelere girmek hala mümkün’ diyor.

Osce a Turchia: legge su Internet troppo dura – LASTAMPA.it

19/1/2010
Osce a Turchia: legge su Internet troppo dura

Bloccati YouTube, GeoCities e alcuni siti di Google

VIENNA
Il rappresentante per la libertà di stampa dell’Organizzazione per la sicurezza e la cooperazione in Europa (Osce), l’ungherese Miklos Haraszti, ha chiesto alle autorità della Turchia di «riformare o abolire» la legge su Internet.

«Nella sua forma attuale, la legge 5651, conosciuta come legge turca su Internet, limita non solo la libertà d’espressione ma in più restringe gravemente il diritto dei cittadini all’accesso alle informazioni», ha affermato Haraszti in un comunicato diffuso a Vienna, dove ha sede l’Osce.

Secondo un rapporto sulla limitazione dell’accesso a Internet in Turchia, stilato dall’esperto internazionale Yaman Akdeniz per conto di Haraszti, «3.700 siti internet sono attualmente bloccati in Turchia, tra cui YouTube, GeoCities e dei siti di Google». Il rapporto precisa che la legge non è stata approvata in risposta «a siti pericolosi, come quelli che diffondono foto di pornografia infantile».

Invece, la norma «bloccando l’accesso a dei siti nella totalità dei loro contenuti in Turchia, impedisce l’accesso a numerose pagine di comunicazione e socializzazione», spiega Haraszti.

Reuters updated its story – changes in bold…

Turkey blocking 3,700 websites, reform needed: OSCE | Reuters

Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:27am EST

VIENNA (Reuters) – Europe’s main security and human rights watchdog said on Monday that Turkey was blocking some 3,700 Internet sites for ‘arbitrary and political reasons’ and urged reforms to show its commitment to freedom of expression.

Technology | Media

Miklos Haraszti, media freedom monitor for the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said Turkey’s Internet law was failing to preserve free expression in the country and should be changed or abolished.

‘In its current form, Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law of Turkey, not only limits freedom of expression, but severely restricts citizens’ right to access information,’ Haraszti said in a statement.

He said Turkey, a European Union candidate, was barring access to 3,700 Internet sites, including YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages, because Ankara’s Internet law was too broad and subject to political interests.

‘Even as some of the content that is deemed ‘bad’, such as child pornography, must be sanctioned, the law is unfit to achieve this. Instead, by blocking access to entire websites from Turkey, it paralyzes access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks,’ Haraszti said.

‘Some of the official reasons to block the Internet are arbitrary and political, and therefore incompatible with OSCE’s freedom of expression commitments,’ he said. Asked about the OSCE remarks, a Turkish transport and communications ministry official who asked not to be named told Reuters: ‘Turkey provides unlimited and equal access for all parts of society. It is above the EU average on this issue.

‘The regulations over Internet have a dynamic structure and necessary legal changes are made when problems are detected in implementation,’ the official added.

Haraszti said Turkish law was still failing to safeguard freedom of expression, and numerous criminal code clauses were being used against journalists, who risked being sent to jail as a result.

Fears for press freedom in Turkey have risen following state attempts to collect a $3.3 billion fine from major media group Dogan in a tax row, part of pressure on Dogan to obey a law limiting foreign ownership of Turkish firms.

In October, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress toward EU membership urged Turkey to treat Dogan fairly and said Ankara needed to do more to protect freedom of expression and the press.

(Additional reporting by Hatice Aydogdu in Ankara; Writing by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Noah Barkin)

“Türkiye keyfi site kapatıyor” eleştirisi CNNTurk.com

18.01.2010 16:40:44

Reuters haber ajansı Türkiye’nin 3 bin 700 web sitesine erişimi politik ve keyfi nedenlerle bloke ettiğini duyurdu.

Avrupa Güvenlik ve İşbirliği Teşkilatı (AGİT), Türkiye’de internet ortamında işlenen suçlarla mücadeleyi öngören yasayı, ‘çok kısıtlayıcı olduğu’ gerekçesiyle eleştirdi.

AGİT basın özgürlüğü temsilcisi Miklos Haraszti, yayımladığı açıklamada, 5651 sayılı İnternet Ortamında Yapılan Yayınların Düzenlenmesi ve Bu Yayınlar Yoluyla İşlenen Suçlarla Mücadele Edilmesi Hakkında Kanun ile ilgili olarak, ‘yasanın mevcut haliyle sadece ifade özgürlüğünü değil, aynı zamanda halkın bilgiye ulaşmasını katı biçimde kısıtladığını’ savundu.

Haraszti’nin servisinde çalışan uluslararası uzman Yaman Akdeniz’in Türkiye’de internete erişimle ilgili hazırladığı raporda, aralarında Youtube, GeoCities ve Google sitelerinin yer aldığı 3 bin 700 siteye erişimin engellendiği kaydedildi.

Raporda, bununla birlikte 5651 sayılı yasanın örneğin çocuk pornosu fotoğrafları yayan siteler gibi tehlikeli siteleri cezalandıramadığı görüşüne de yer verildi. Haraszti, interneti bloke etmek için ortaya koyulan nedenlerden bazılarının siyasi ve keyfi olduğunu ve AGİT’in ifade özgürlüğü alanındaki taahhütleriyle uyuşmadığını savundu.

Reuters: Turkey blocking 3,700 websites

Turkey blocking 3,700 websites: OSCE
VIENNA, Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:37am EST

VIENNA (Reuters) – Europe’s main security and human rights watchdog said Monday Turkey was blocking some 3,700 Internet sites for ‘arbitrary and political reasons’ and urged legal reforms to show its commitment to freedom of expression.

Technology

Milos Haraszti, media freedom monitor for the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said Turkey’s Internet law was failing to preserve free expression in the country and should be reformed or abolished.

‘In its current form, Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law of Turkey, not only limits freedom of expression, but severely restricts citizens’ right to access information,’ Haraszti said in a statement.

He said Turkey, a European Union candidate, was barring access to 3,700 Internet sites, including YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages, because Ankara’s Internet law was too broad and subject to political interests.

‘Even as some of the content that is deemed ‘bad’, such as child pornography, must be sanctioned, the law is unfit to achieve this. Instead, by blocking access to entire websites from Turkey, it paralyzes access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks,’ Haraszti said.

‘Some of the official reasons to block the Internet are arbitrary and political, and therefore incompatible with OSCE’s freedom of expression commitments,’ he said.

Haraszti said Turkish law was still failing to safeguard freedom of expression, and numerous criminal code clauses were being used against journalists, who risked being sent to jail as a result.

‘Therefore ‘reform or abolish’ the Internet Law is our main recommendation … (to ensure Turks can be) a part of today’s global information society.’

Fears for press freedom in Turkey have risen as a result of state attempts to collect a $3.3 billion fine from major media group Dogan in a tax row, part of pressure on Dogan to obey a law limiting foreign ownership of Turkish firms.

In October, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress toward EU membership urged Turkey to treat Dogan fairly and said Ankara needed to do more to protect freedom of expression and the press.

(Writing by Mark Heinrich; editing by Tim Pearce)