Turkey’s Parliament has passed into law a controversial bill which gives the government higher control of social media, generating concerns about freedom of expression in the country.
Under the newly approved law, social media giants like Facebook and Twitter must ensure they have local representatives in Turkey and obey court orders over the removal of specific content.
Under the new regulations, companies could be fined, advertisements could be blocked and bandwidth could be slashed by up to 90 percent.
Apart from targeting social networks with over a million unique daily visits, the law says servers with Turkish users’ data must be stored in Turkey.
The bill was tendered by the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and its partner, the National Movement Party (MHP), which possess a majority in the parliament.
Various human rights groups are worried over what they tag erosion of freedom of expression in Turkey, where criminal proceedings for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on social media are prevalent.
They made it known that increased control of social media will also place a limit on access to independent or critical information in a nation where the mainstream media is controlled by government-friendly businessmen and the state.
While talking to AFP news agency, a cyber-rights expert and Istanbul’s Bilgi University Professor, Yaman Akdeniz said: “Why now? While print and broadcast media platforms are already under government control, social networks are relatively free.
“Social networks have become one of the few spaces for free and effective expression in Turkey.”
