Web crackdown in Turkey filters 'illegal content': ISPs must store data for 1 year
ANKARA — Turkey has launched a quiet crackdown on digital dissent.
Turkish sources said the effort by the government of Prime Minister
Recep Erdogan focuses on the Internet. They said the crackdown was taking
place amid the war against the Kurdish Workers Party and criticism by the
European Union.
"Turkey is becoming a police state," Mehmet Ali Koksal, a member of the
board of Turkish Information Technology Association, said.
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The new regulations were not widely reported in the Turkish media.
Ankara has already restricted access to websites associated with the PKK,
which has been waging a war with Turkey, Middle East Newsline reported.
On Nov. 1, the Turkish Official Gazette published regulations that
require Internet service providers to prevent access to what was termed
"illegal content." The regulations also mandated the use of
government-approved filters to block users from visiting websites deemed
undesirable.
Officials said commercial ISPs have been required to record details of
websites visited by their subscribers. Under the regulations, the data must
be stored for at least one year.
The crackdown on Internet use began in March 2007. At the time Internet
cafes were deemed responsible for ensuring that computers could not be used
to access illegal sites.
Diplomats said the ISP regulations reverse a trend that began in 2005 by
Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party to remove limitations on
privacy and freedom of expression. But they said the fading prospects that
Turkey would be accepted by the EU has renewed restrictions.
