AfterDawn: News

YouTube access banned in Turkey

Turkish Internet users are now greeted with a message when they try to access Google Inc.'s video sharing site informing them that its access has been blocked in the country. A court order was issued to telecommunications companies in the country after videos appeared on the site that reportedly insulted former Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Turkish media reported that a "virtual war" between Greek and Turkish users of the site followed the videos, with more insulting video responses posted by both sides. The clip that started the whole fuss referred to Ataturk and Turks as homosexuals. Insulting Ataturk, the founding father of modern Turkey, or "Turkishness" is an offense which can result in a prison sentence.



Turkish users who try to access YouTube currently see this message...

"Access to www.youtube.com site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court".

Paul Doany, the head of Turk Telecom, said access to the site was blocked as soon as the court order came through. "We are not in the position of saying that what YouTube did was an insult, that it was right or wrong," Mr Doany told Anatolia news agency. "A court decision was proposed to us, and we are doing what that court decision says."

Of course, YouTube did not do anything wrong since it a user driven site. In fact, after several complaints, YouTube removed the offending videos. Turkey, which hopes to join the European Union, has been pressured to ease up Article 301 by the EU as it makes "insults to Turkish culture" an offense. The European Union's stance is that the law places severe restrictions on free speech in Turkey.

And in the spirit of free speech, Turkish users should be advised that using public proxy's (or private services if you are willing to pay) or even TOR may help to get around the block, although speed of video loading will be affected.

Source:
BBC News

Written by: James Delahunty @ 7 Mar 2007 17:19

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• 19 comments

• eiffel65

  That's weird...doesn't anyone know that the free speech amendment goes to ALL countrys and states?

  7.3.2007 17:26 #1

• Pop_Smith

  Originally posted by eiffel65:That's weird...doesn't anyone know that the free speech amendment goes to ALL countrys and states?No, I didn't know America's Constitution was really a World constitution. :p
  
  Just kidding, but it seems weird to sentence people to prison for insulting the country's founder.
  
  But if this became fixed followed by other such acts it could get Turkey put on the "Internet's enemies" list. But I don't think that will happen as only bad dictatorships seem to land themselves on it.

  7.3.2007 18:37 #2

• Smee342

  Quote:Originally posted by eiffel65:That's weird...doesn't anyone know that the free speech amendment goes to ALL countrys and states?No, I didn't know America's Constitution was really a World constitution. :p
  
  Just kidding, but it seems weird to sentence people to prison for insulting the country's founder.
  
  But if this became fixed followed by other such acts it could get Turkey put on the "Internet's enemies" list. But I don't think that will happen as only bad dictatorships seem to land themselves on it.let me put it this way pop_smith
  since ur pop smith wat of people were teasing u and or disrepecting grandpa smith to ur face simply becouse they did like him and they now hate ur entire family wat would u do ?
  
  turkey is just tring to be a median and stop all the insults the only way they probably know how
  
  of course if ur american it just seems fullish im sure lol
  
  SmeeZus
  
  lol i hope i made sense lol

  7.3.2007 21:50 #3

• ZippyDSM

  Next they will be banning half the internet because it makes their populace think!!
  
  oh my!!

  8.3.2007 03:00 #4

• skeil909

  ROFLMAO! Thats all I have to say about Turkey.

  8.3.2007 13:25 #5

• eLeCTR0n

  I wonder if this ban will come up in the next EU meeting. lol
  
  anyway screw Ataturk.

  8.3.2007 15:51 #6

• moufoglou

  Originally posted by eLeCTR0n:I wonder if this ban will come up in the next EU meeting. lol
  
  anyway screw Ataturk."screw Ataturk"? Turkey will ban afterdawn as well after your post..
  
  Seriously, Turkey is not the most liberal country in the world-to answer to eiffel65's comment-,so i'm not that surprised.
  
  This is not about Ataturk, it's about controlling the only means of free speech left in Turkey.

  8.3.2007 23:46 #7

• isis11

  Who is talking about free speech? Europiens have law about not to talk about the lies of carnage. One of the Turkish leader has been judging for four days at the court of Switzerland.US is going to accept the same law. And I thik that you don't know anything about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

  9.3.2007 01:04 #8

• moufoglou

  isis11,first of all i didn't have the intention to offend anybody.
  i apologise if i did.
  
  anyway,i happen to know a few things about Kemal and i have a high regard of him.i live in the city where he was born actually;)
  
  to tell you the truth,i didn't get your comment,but let's not start a debate. this is not the place and i don't think there is a reason.
  if you're happy with what happens in your own country -i assume-, then you know where to place your vote.. if you're not, protest.
  let us have a different opinion though.
  
  about the videos, i have just downloaded a couple to see what the buzz is all about,but it turns out that i'll have to ask my bilingual friend for translation first.

  9.3.2007 02:19 #9

• eLeCTR0n

  isis11 is actually right about that part. most euro countries have laws against free speech when it comes to suffering of jews in wwII. And it looks like the U.S. is going in the same direction. if you speak against israel then you're anti-semitic and probably a terrorist too. If you speak against the war in Iraq then you're anti-American and so on.
  
  so basically each country has its own flavor of pressing free speech.

  9.3.2007 14:55 #10

• SLaTheR

  Yes you may be branded with a title in US. However you can say anything you like about our government and/or other countries without fear of arrest, or having your internet site banned.
  
  True, free speech is under attack worldwide, governments fear the free exchange of ideas. That should not stop all people from striving for it and practicing it.

  11.3.2007 15:02 #11

• eLeCTR0n

  Quote:However you can say anything you like about our government and/or other countries without fear of arrest, or having your internet site banned.Thanks to the Patriot Act, that's not true anymore.

  12.3.2007 16:19 #12

• SLaTheR

  Excuse me but yes it still is. The Patriot Act has not changed as much as some people would like you to believe.
  
  Free speech is certainly still allowed, and I know of no American citizen who has been penalized for speaking his mind, either on the internet or personally.
  
  Just check the USA Today site and read the blogs bashing the hell out of this administration (by the way USA Today is definately NOT in danger of being banned). Also the countless forums and newsletters which are highly critical of even the Patriot Act itself.
  
  NBot to mention all the myriad college lecture circuits that NEVER have anything good to say about any administration.
  
  Free speech in the USA is alive and well, all you have to do is use it and speek out.

  14.3.2007 12:18 #13

• eLeCTR0n

  You can talk about the theoretical freedom of speech all you want. But if the government can arrest or detain any american citizen without a court order, then the freedom of speech you're talking about is sheer rhetoric. Don't you think?

  16.3.2007 21:42 #14

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by SLaTheR:Excuse me but yes it still is. The Patriot Act has not changed as much as some people would like you to believe.
  
  Free speech is certainly still allowed, and I know of no American citizen who has been penalized for speaking his mind, either on the internet or personally.
  
  Just check the USA Today site and read the blogs bashing the hell out of this administration (by the way USA Today is definately NOT in danger of being banned). Also the countless forums and newsletters which are highly critical of even the Patriot Act itself.
  
  NBot to mention all the myriad college lecture circuits that NEVER have anything good to say about any administration.
  
  Free speech in the USA is alive and well, all you have to do is use it and speek out.I dont know
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_corpus was shot down due to its impeding the detaining of prisoners of questionable origin(terrorists) instead of creating a new aw to deal with terrorists they are destroying the rights the citizens have ,the FBI has been clocked back to the 20s having almost no limit to what they can do,regulation of both goverment and business have been on the decline in the past 10 or so years as well...all this adds up to free speech either being copy righted by the right or baned by the goverment its not that bad yet but we are getting thier....

  17.3.2007 00:15 #15

• rico666

  Originally posted by SLaTheR:Excuse me but yes it still is. The Patriot Act has not changed as much as some people would like you to believe.
  
  Free speech is certainly still allowed, and I know of no American citizen who has been penalized for speaking his mind, either on the internet or personally.
  
  Just check the USA Today site and read the blogs bashing the hell out of this administration (by the way USA Today is definitely NOT in danger of being banned). Also the countless forums and newsletters which are highly critical of even the Patriot Act itself.
  
  NBot to mention all the myriad college lecture circuits that NEVER have anything good to say about any administration.
  
  Free speech in the USA is alive and well, all you have to do is use it and speek out.Totally agree with eLeCTR0n on his reply.
  
  Also if i was to go out and say i think what happened at 11:sep was well deserved and made a big deal out of it i don't think i would be so free to do so! I think i would be called a terrorist .....
  
  US is the worst country in the world when it comes to rights. People sue each other left and right Probably for looking funny at each other soon.
  Read recently about a teacher who was sentenced to 3 year jail for a porn pop up on the pc due to virus or something or what about
  the "hot" coffee at Macdonald :) Most stupid thing i ever hear. the dude sued Macdonald for his coffee was to hot :D
  Not that it has to do anything with freedom of speech but when it comes to rights i think soon you need a lawyer to walk you outside :)
  
  On the other side i do agree that Turkey is not a 100% democratic country!

  17.3.2007 00:53 #16

• ZippyDSM

  rico666
  oh come on there are far far worse examples of bad countries than the US,china for one or any other with someone as simple as the police having near complete rule over the populace,in the US you have levels of control and appeal to that control,its messy and sides with the rich but then again what country dose not side with the rich most of the time?
  
  Sure theres no comment since in the court half the time but when you are maimed by corporate stupidity at least you can sue.
  
  
  the US is not perfect but more stable than most sadly it is sliding into a 2rd world nation where there is no middle just the haves and have nots.
  
  

  
  
  FIGHT THE M.A.F.I.A.A.
  

  17.3.2007 01:53 #17

• rico666

  Originally posted by ZIppyDSM:rico666
  oh come on there are far far worse examples of bad countries than the US,china for one or any other with someone as simple as the police having near complete rule over the populace,in the US you have levels of control and appeal to that control,its messy and sides with the rich but then again what country dose not side with the rich most of the time?
  
  Sure theres no comment since in the court half the time but when you are maimed by corporate stupidity at least you can sue.
  
  
  the US is not perfect but more stable than most sadly it is sliding into a 2rd world nation where there is no middle just the haves and have nots.True true.
  As always money talks :D

  17.3.2007 04:23 #18

• SLaTheR

  I can't answer all the points you make here about free speech, but I can try to.
  
  Habeus Corpus has been shot down for what is being termed "enemy combatants" These are people captured supposedly while fighting with U.S. troops. Habeus Corpus is not being shot down for American citizens (who by the way are the only ones actually living under our constitution.
  
  The teachers conviction is under appeal, though she supposedly left the porn site visible for almost the whole day on her computer, in sight of the students. All she had to do was unplug the thing. There is ALOT more to the story that you are portraying.
  
  Tyhe Mcdonald's coffee thing was about faulty cups, not hot coffee, another seemingly forgotten point. Since then McD just lowered the temp of it's coffee. The guy got burned when the cup melted through.
  
  The FBI is not rolled back to the 20's, not just yet, and they are now under VERY heavy fire for misusing the patriot act. Congress has opened full investigation into this. They do not have a free ticket to do whatever they want, there are controls in place even if it takes a while to get to the checks.
  
  As for saying that 9?11 was a good thing, I would worry more about my peers reaction than the government. As a matter of fact people like Cindy Sheehan have said much worse and also made a big deal of it. Last seen this weekend under the washington monument giving an anti-war speech. Hmmm, she is taking her right to free speech to the extreme and is not being arrested, banned, or disappeared.

  18.3.2007 13:34 #19