14 DAY TRIAL // Internet censorship is increasing in Turkey, with local authorities now ordering a nation-wide ban of the Tor anonymity network, which was one of the most popular ways to get around other restrictions imposed by the government.
Censorship watchdog Turkey Blocks has confirmed that TOR is no longer available for people in Turkey as part of the country’s efforts to curb the use of VPN services.
Following the latest bans on social media, the majority of users turned to Tor and VPN providers to bypass the government’s restriction, so now President Erdogan and the AKP party are trying to tackle these workarounds as well.
“Partial or total blocking of VPN, Tor and similar services will shift Turkey’s internet censorship regime from moderate to severe in character, allowing the state fine-grained control of the flow of information in a ‘walled garden’ model of internet access like that imposed by China’s Great Firewall,” Turkey Blocks noted recently.
The ban on the Tor anonymity network was first reported on December 18, but today the restriction expanded to the entire country, with several users there confirming that the service is no longer available. There still are ways to get around government bans on social media, but Tor was one of the most popular and blocking it is likely to impact a significant number of users.
No reason for the ban
What’s more surprising, however, is that the ban comes without a clear reason, as Turkey previously imposed similar blocks only after notable events.
For example, in November, the government decided to block access to social media and messaging apps, including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and YouTube, after arresting 11 members of the parliament in an attempt to prevent such news from spreading across the country.
This time, however, no such event took place, so the plan might actually target a potential block in the future that would make it completely impossible for users in Turkey to access these services should the government want it.