14 DAY TRIAL // Turkey’s efforts to take complete control over the Internet have been stepped up a notch as the country’s parliament has passed a law giving even more powers to its telecoms authority.
The government has recently promised that they would help build a “new Turkey” and it seems that this new country they’re talking about will soon forget what free Internet even looks like.
The new law comes in the footsteps of the legislation introduced in February that helped authorities to block access to web pages without a court order. Now, the telecoms authority (TIB) has the power to block sites if it is deemed necessary due to matters of national security, the restoration of public order and the prevention of crimes, extending on the cases of privacy violations mentioned in the first law.
This roughly translates into the fact that the government can block off social media sites as soon as the next uprising happens, in order to restore the public order. Additionally, torrent sites may start going down in Turkey too because the government would, in this manner, prevent crimes.
Turkey's government seeks control over the Internet
TIB, the authority that reports to the prime minister’s office, has also gained the power to access people’s browsing history without a court order, effectively getting free hand to violate people’s privacy in the online medium.
The government’s attitude towards the Internet doesn’t really come as a surprise. The former prime minister who has been elected as President last month has had quite a few harsh words to say about various Internet tools that allowed people the freedom of information, such as Twitter.
The entire thing started last year when a series of photographs and videos made their way online indicating that Tayyip Erdogan was involved in some corruption deeds. Access to YouTube was restricted soon after, with Twitter and Facebook following behind.
Considering the fact that the elections were approaching fast, it all appeared to be a move where Erdogan sought to hide proof of his actions.
The government claimed that the first law was meant to protect people’s privacy, while the second one is aimed to prevent delays in acting against violations of national security and public order threats.
Young people in Turkey are understandably upset about the new laws, while the opposing parties in the country believe it will lead to arbitrary practices. Thousands of websites have already been blocked in Turkey under various other laws.