14 DAY TRIAL // Turkish Internet Service Providers are slackening the hold they have on the Internet and have started permitting the use of Google DNS, as well as other similar services, once more.
Telecommunications companies in Turkey have stopped intercepting traffic to public Internet address books run by Google, Level 3 Communications and OpenDNS, Wall Street Journal reports. This comes after nearly ten days since the blockade was implemented.
DNS solutions were particularly sought out after ISPs were ordered to block Twitter in the entire country. Then, instructions on how to change the DNS appeared in many Turkish cities, including Istanbul. It wasn’t long until access to such solutions was restricted.
Google confirmed that it detected Turkish actions against its DNS service and reportedly entered a dialogue with the country’s officials to remedy the problem.
Google has been facing a lot of troubles in Turkey, especially after the country decided to block YouTube because the site hosted some 15 videos containing compromising footage with government officials discussing the possibility of using a hoax to justify military intervention in Syria.
YouTube was blocked a few days after access to Twitter was restricted for similar reasons. While the Turkish government said that the measures were applied because the site refused to remove some links, the truth was that the local elections were just around the corner and content posted on social media was affecting the leading party’s image and weakening its chances to gain control over various city halls.
Last week, the Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled that the ban on Twitter should be lifted because it violated basic human rights such as that to freedom of expression. The government reluctantly complied, although the prime minister said he had no respect for the decision.
A lower court tried to lift the ban on YouTube as well, while continuing to censor the 15 videos that the government didn’t want Turks to see. The decision was overturned just a few hours later.
In the meantime, Google has filed a request with the Turkish Constitutional Court to order to government to lift the YouTube ban, but so far, nothing has happened in this regard.
By stopping the actions against DNS servers operated by Google, Level 3 Communications and Open DNS, Turkish ISPs are basically making it easier for users to gain access to the blocked sites once again. Some sort of formal response is awaited from the Turkish government.