Would Freedom of Expression Become a National Threat?: Youtube, Twitter and Wikipedia Problems in Turkey

Abstract

Authority to impose sanction on the contents published on the Internet brings along a significant complexity of authorization due to the cross-border structure of the Internet. In the study, it is seen that access blocking decisions of Turkey regarding numerous contents on the Internet both harm the prestige of the country and limit the freedoms of expression and communication of its citizens. For example, not removing the contents regarded criminal by Turkish jurisdiction from the sites lies at the bottom of the problems Turkey had with YouTube and Twitter. In consequence of not being able to block these contents on URL basis and remove them, Turkey was forced into taking decisions that violate freedom of expression. The contents on Wikipedia, which emphasize that Turkey is supporting terrorist organizations are only personal opinions and they cannot be edited or d by some reason. Access to Wikipedia is still blocked due to these contents and Turkey is violating the rights to freedom of communication and expression once again. However, the reasons of Turkey’s being forced to violate these freedoms have never been discussed adequately for some reason. It is seen that Turkey cannot defend itself sufficiently in international arena in this respect.

Keywords

• freedom of expression
• youtube
• twitter
• wikipedia
• ifade özgürlüğü
• youtube
• twitter
• wikipedia