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RSF slams Turkey for tightening Internet censorship with amended law [Cihan News Agency (Turkey)](Cihan News Agency (Turkey) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ISTANBUL (CIHAN)- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released a written statement on its official website in which it harshly criticizes Turkey for granting the Telecommunications Directorate (TIB) extensive powers over Internet use -- such as the power to block access to websites without a court order -- with new amendments recently made to the country's Internet law. The RSF stated that Turkey's Parliament "passed two last-minute amendments expanding the grounds under which [TIB] can temporarily block websites without a court order, and allowing it to gather Internet user connection data independently of any ongoing investigation." "Coming just after the end of the Internet Governance Forum [IGF] in Istanbul [last week], the amendments showed that the Turkish authorities are ready to go even further down the road of Internet censorship," the RSF statement continued. TIB has already been able to order the "preventive blocking" of websites since February in cases of "attacks on privacy" or "discriminatory or insulting" content. Under the most recent amendments, it can now also block sites in case of a perceived attack on "national security," to "protect public order" or to "prevent a crime from being committed." "Blocking a website, even for 48 hours, without referring to a court violates the principle of the separation of powers as well as freedom of information," the RSF statement reported Johann Bihr, the head of the RSF Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, as saying. "By increasing the possibility of blocking sites in this way, the authorities are yet again reaffirming their determination to control the Internet. Online resources play a key role in informing the Turkish public, one that is all the more important because harassment of the traditional media is being stepped up. We urge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to sign these amendments into law," Bihr said. The RSF statement further says that "until now, although Internet Service Providers [ISPs] are required to keep connection data for six months to two years, the TIB was unable to access this data without a court order issued as part of judicial proceeding targeting a specific Internet user." "The TIB's new powers have been repeatedly used in recent months to censor online content critical of the authorities. Twitter and YouTube, the Vimeo and SoundCloud platforms and the Yenidonem.com and Vagus.tv news sites were all blocked to prevent the dissemination of recordings that supported claims of government corruption during an election period," the statement adds. Expressing concerns over the possibility that the Turkish authorities will increase the extent of Internet censorship and surveillance, the RSF statement said that "Turkish civil society is all the more worried about this extension of the TIB's powers because President Erdogan, who was until recently the prime minister, has made it clear he intends to abolish the TIB and transfer all of its powers to the [National Intelligence Organization] MIT, Turkey's leading intelligence agency, which is under his direct control." "MIT is already allowed to keep the Turkish public and media under generalized surveillance under a reform that took effect in April. This reform also shields the MIT from judicial and media curiosity, with investigative journalists risking up to nine years in prison if they publish information leaked from within the MIT," the statement continues. The statement also recalled that "RSF, Amnesty International [AI], Human Rights Watch [HRW], the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) and Turkey's Alternative Informatics Association [ABD] jointly denounced the growing Internet censorship in Turkey at a news conference in Istanbul on Sept. 4 during the IGF." The statement claimed that Turkish "NGOs were particularly critical of the role of the TIB and MIT" during the conference. Based on amendments passed in Parliament in February, TIB was only authorized to collect Internet traffic data from Internet service providers based on a court ruling reached as the result of an ongoing legal investigation. In the February version of the Internet law, TIB was granted the power to block access to any content on a web portal without a court order, but only if the content constituted an invasion of privacy. As per the latest amendment, TIB will also be able to obtain Internet traffic data from ISPs without a court order and will provide these data to the relevant authorities if a court order so demands. Internet traffic data reveals the websites a person has visited, how much time he or she has spent on a website and with whom a person communicates by e-mail. A controversial law on the regulation of Internet news portals and websites, passed by Parliament in February, had already extended TIB's powers of Internet censorship. According to the amendments passed in February, TIB was authorized to block websites which violate individuals' privacy without seeking permission from a court. The measures also force Internet providers to keep records of users' activity for up to two years and make these available to the authorities upon request.(Cihan/Today's Zaman) CIHAN (c) 2014 Cihan News Agency. All right reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |