Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

International report - Press freedom concerns as Ankara forces internet giants to bow to Turkish law

International report - Press freedom concerns as Ankara forces internet giants to bow to Turkish law

The recent decision by international internet companies to comply with Turkish government demands that the companies open offices in Turkey is stoking fears over the future of country’s last remaining platform for independent journalism.

“We are worried about this decision of the internet platforms to open offices here,” said Gokhan Bicici, editor in chief of Dokuz8Haber, “but if they did not open than the government might have shut them out of Turkey which would be worse for us.”

Dokuz8Haber is one of a growing number of news portals in Turkey. From its Istanbul office reports are compiled by both professional and citizen journalists. The site relies on social media, which has become the main platform for independent reporting explains Bicici

“Ninety percent of the media apparatus is in control of the state, of the government in Turkey. There is no mainstream in Turkey anymore. It is an apparatus of the government against the society. So, social media is the only free base we can use to reach the society.

Gokhan Bicici, editor-in-chief of news portal Dokuz8haber.


"People can follow trustworthy news only through social media. This is the only field which is not under the full control of the government . . . it’s a kind of emergency place for us. That is why Dokuz8 is organised and based on social media.”

Grim global press freedom ranking


The Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders in April ranked Turkey 153rd in the world in terms of media freedom. Yet Turkey’s government wants to extend its control of media to the Internet by pressuring social media platforms to open offices in Turkey.  

This will put the companies’ operations in the country under Turkish jurisdiction – with controls that Ankara claims are similar to those of other European countries.

Yaman Akdeniz of the Istanbul based Freedom of Expression Society admits there are some similarities to legislation being considered in Europe, but questions how Turkey will apply restrictions given the country’s poor record on press freedom.

“The government, in addition to warnings and financial penalties, and advertisement bans, was going to impose a bandwidth restriction ban. The government was going to throttle the servers of these social media platform providers who did not comply with having legal representation in Turkey,” said Akdeniz.

“So as of today all the social media platform providers who have over one million users daily in Turkey say they will have legal representation in Turkey. So they are part of the Turkish law and they are expected to comply with the requests coming from the Turkish authorities,” he added.

Turkey leads Twitter's removal requests


Twitter, Google, Facebook, Tiktok and others have opened offices in Istanbul, meeting Ankara’s April deadline. Twitter says Turkey submits the most requests to remove postings and users, but up to this point, the company has complied with only a few.

However, Gokhan Ozturan executive manager of Dokuz8Haber says news portals like his, fear these social media platforms will become more compliant with Turkish authorities.

“Twitter for example would only send us a notification that they have received a court order from the Turkish authorities to remove a certain tweet, but they did not comply with it because it does not violate the community standards.

"So when the government is trying to force social media platforms to be present in Turkey their aim is to remove articles they don’t like and this poses a great threat. If these social media companies become a tool to increase this oppression in Turkey, then it will become an even bigger challenge for us, and this is the biggest concern we have at the moment.”

Several social media platforms have issued statements saying they remain committed to freedom of expression.

Turkey heads towards crucial elections


Meantime, the offices of Dokuz8 are full of workers with a new studio under construction, part of the site’s efforts to expand its operations ahead of expected early elections in Turkey.

Bicici is closely supervising the work, while he worries about the government efforts to tighten the grip on social media, he says he is focusing on expanding Dokuz8 operations, to provide Turkey with independent nationwide news

"Dokuz8 will be specialised and centralised more on local media in the future. And the main target is to be able in the next election in Turkey is to cover the whole election from every district in Turkey and we are close to this mission,

"Because I think the next election will be the most important in Turkish history. That’s why it's very important to coordinate the news flow from every district in Turkey. And Dokuz8 is I think the only platform to have such a capacity."

Dokuz8 and others are banking on social media platforms remaining free and open to enable their efforts to provide independent news as Turkey heads into one of its most critical times.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×