Istanbul Gazette News
The English Voice of Turkish News
Protestors Take to Streets for Internet Freedom in Turkey
July 17, 2010
By: Jason D. Jones
ISTANBUL- Hundreds of protestors converged on Istanbul’s Taksim Square today to protest the Turkish government’s strict ban on numerous Internet websites. The protest comes on the heels of a recent court order that widens the ban on sites operated by Google.
Turkish authorities have been waging a battle against Google since 2008, when the telecommunications ministry banned access to Youtube, Google’s popular video sharing site, for refusing to remove videos that were reported to have insulted Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic. Insulting Atatürk is a crime in Turkey.
(Photo by: Jason D. Jones)
The recent escalation in tensions between Turkey and the Internet giant was highlighted earlier this month when Communications Minister, Binali Yildirim, accused YouTube of waging attacks against Turkey and claiming that Google owes $20 million in taxes for advertising revenue generated from ads placed in the country.
However, some protestors present in Istanbul today believe that the tax issue is merely another diversionary tactic to hide political and religious motives for the bans.
“Every responsible Internet user knows that these bans are personal, political and religious.”, said Berkant Akarcan, an online project specialist present at today’s march.
When asked about the other reasons for prohibiting website access, Akarcan added, “For example, political opposition against the government of Turkey or evolutionist’s opinions… if they have content about evolution… they just block it.” He then pointed out that the website of well-known atheist and proponent of evolutionary theory, Richard Dawkins, is among those that have been banned.
According to Engelli Web, a Turkish language site that monitors Internet blocking, there are more than 6,000 sites banned in Turkey. Among those are sites containing pornography, gambling, file sharing and blogging.
July 17, 2010
By: Jason D. Jones
ISTANBUL- Hundreds of protestors converged on Istanbul’s Taksim Square today to protest the Turkish government’s strict ban on numerous Internet websites. The protest comes on the heels of a recent court order that widens the ban on sites operated by Google.
Turkish authorities have been waging a battle against Google since 2008, when the telecommunications ministry banned access to Youtube, Google’s popular video sharing site, for refusing to remove videos that were reported to have insulted Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic. Insulting Atatürk is a crime in Turkey.
(Photo by: Jason D. Jones)
The recent escalation in tensions between Turkey and the Internet giant was highlighted earlier this month when Communications Minister, Binali Yildirim, accused YouTube of waging attacks against Turkey and claiming that Google owes $20 million in taxes for advertising revenue generated from ads placed in the country.
However, some protestors present in Istanbul today believe that the tax issue is merely another diversionary tactic to hide political and religious motives for the bans.
“Every responsible Internet user knows that these bans are personal, political and religious.”, said Berkant Akarcan, an online project specialist present at today’s march.
When asked about the other reasons for prohibiting website access, Akarcan added, “For example, political opposition against the government of Turkey or evolutionist’s opinions… if they have content about evolution… they just block it.” He then pointed out that the website of well-known atheist and proponent of evolutionary theory, Richard Dawkins, is among those that have been banned.
According to Engelli Web, a Turkish language site that monitors Internet blocking, there are more than 6,000 sites banned in Turkey. Among those are sites containing pornography, gambling, file sharing and blogging.