Istanbul Clashes Over Turkey's New Internet Laws

Taksim Square, Istanbul

BBC: Turkish riot police have fired water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators marching in Istanbul in protest at new laws tightening government control of the internet.

Demonstrators threw fireworks and stones at police cordoning off Taksim Square, the city's main square.

The president is under pressure not to ratify the legislation.

It includes powers allowing authorities to block websites for privacy violations without a court decision.

The opposition says it is part of a government attempt to stifle a corruption scandal.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied accusations of censorship, saying the legislation would make the internet "more safe and free". (+ BBC video) » | Saturday, February 08, 2014

Turkish MPs Endorse Internet Control Law

Turkey's parliament has adopted a new Internet bill roundly criticised as an assault by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on freedom of expression, access to information and investigative journalism. Al Jazeera spoke to Mehmet Karli, assistant Professor of International Law at Galatasary University, in Istanbul.

Related »

Turkey Pushes Through New Raft of 'Draconian' Internet Restrictions

THE GUARDIAN: New law requiring ISPs to make web user data available to authorities seen as threat to democracy, says opposition party

The Turkish government has been accused of imposing draconian censorship after pushing harsh new internet curbs through parliament. The new internet law was met with outrage in Turkey on Wednesday night, with opposition parties accusing the government of wanting to introduce ever tighter control by bypassing the courts.

The regulations were adopted after a heated Parliamentary debate yesterday, during which one MP of the main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP) compared Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan to Hitler. The law now needs to be signed by Turkish President Abdullah Gül to go into effect.

"When you came into power you talked of increasing democracy in Turkey, but now you are trying to implement fascism," Hasan Ören said. "Remember that Adolf Hitler used the same methods when he rose to power."

The new measures will allow Turkey's telecommunications authority (TIB) to block any website in 24 hours and without first seeking a court ruling. The law also obliges internet providers to store all data on web users' activities for two years and make it available to the authorities upon request.

Deputy prime minister Bülent Arınç rejected all accusations of censorship. "We are freer and have more press freedom than many other countries in the world", he said.

However, critics say that the law violates citizens' rights to freedom of expression and current privacy rights, turning Turkey into an Orwellian surveillance state. » | Constanze Letsch in Istanbul | Thursday, February 06, 2014

EU ‘Asking Google to Censor Web’

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: New European regulations to force websites to delete data when users ask have been condemned by a leading lawyer.

Prof Jeffrey Rosen, writing in the Stanford Law Review, claims that proposals from Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding “could transform Google, for example, into a censor-in-chief for the European Union, rather than a neutral platform”. He said that rather than perform such a role, the search giant was more likely to simply produce blank pages for certain search results.

The current European proposals seek to harmonise laws across the 27 EU nations and will force sites to delete information shortly after consumers request it be removed. If they do not comply, a fine of up to two per cent of a firm’s global turnover could follow.

Matthew Newman, Reding’s spokesman, told the Telegraph it simply aggregates existing rights to get data deleted from servers in a “timely manner”. But he says it also means individual EU information commissioners could arbitrate when, say, a user posts a controversial picture online of someone else and refuses to take it down when the subject asks.

Reding herself insists: “The right to be forgotten has nothing to do with journalists, nothing to do with the work of bloggers, nothing to do with tweeters – it’s about when you entrust information to a company. Because freedom of expression is very important we have also to take this into account.”

Prof Rosen argues that the fear of fines will have a chilling effect, and that it will be hard to enforce across the internet when information is widely disseminated. Read on and comment » | Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor | Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Google Joins Twitter in Censorship Storm: Site May Now Block Blog Posts in Line with Requests from Oppressive Regimes
MAIL ONLINE: Blog posts will be blocked at national government request / Campaigners fear 'the end of the global internet community' / But Google claims move will allow MORE free speech

Google's informal motto is 'don't be evil', but a huge change to its Blogger service could see the search giant help oppressive governments stamp out voices of protest.

Bloggers who have relied on the popular service to organise dissent as seen during the Arab Spring could find their posts being blocked by Google itself.

The company will now block posts or blogs from being seen in a country if they their local laws, handing a victory to regimes that crack down on free speech to keep a lid on dissent.

The move has caused widespread concern - and echoes Twitter's recent decision to block Tweets on a similar 'per country' basis to comply with local laws.

Internet freedom group Open Net Initiative said of Twitter's recent policy change, 'The change marks a new trend in American Internet companies bowing to the demands of authoritarian regimes.'

Amnesty International said, 'As with other sectors, business decisions in the digital world have human rights implications. Human rights monitors and advocates have a lot more work to do since the digital revolution.'

'Our collective vigilance is needed more than ever.'

Thailand heartily backed Twitter's recent decision to block Tweets at the request of governments, as did China's state-run newspaper.

But Google claims that the move will actually allow more freedom of speech. Read on and comment » | Rob Waugh | Thursday, February 02, 2012

US to Spend $30m Fighting Internet Censorship
THE GUARDIAN: America funding technology to break web censorship in repressive regimes, such as China and Iran

The United States is playing a game of "cat and mouse" on the web, funding new technology aimed at breaking internet censorship in repressive regimes including China and Iran, officials have said.

Michael Posner, the US assistant secretary of state for human rights, said projects being funded by the US government included technology that acts as a "slingshot" – identifying censored material and throwing it back on to the web for users to find. The project is part of a $30m (£18m) state department project to encourage civil liberty online.

"We're responding with new tools. This is a cat-and-mouse game. We're trying to stay one step ahead of the cat," Posner said. Censored information would be redirected to email, blogs and other online sources, he said. He would not identify the recipients of funding for "reasons of security".

The comments are part of an overall US strategy to raise the importance of cyberspace in foreign affairs. The Pentagon is preparing to unveil an "international strategy for cyberspace" that will make online security an official domain of warfare like land, sea and air. » | Dominic Rushe in New York | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Washington s'engage pour la liberté d'Internet
Hillary Clinton, mardi lors de son discours à l'Université George-Washington. Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: La diplomatie américaine ajoute à ses missions la défense des droits «de parole, d'assemblée et d'association en ligne».

À Washington

Surfant sur le rôle clé de Facebook et Twitter dans le déclenchement des révolutions populaires qui ont eu raison des dictateurs d'Égypte et de Tunisie, Washington se pose à nouveau en tombeur des «murs virtuels» qui s'érigent sur Internet. Dans un discours prononcé mardi à l'Université George-Washington dans la capitale fédérale, face à un public d'étudiants et de têtes pensantes du «cybermonde», Hillary Clinton a retrouvé les accents reaganiens déjà employés il y a un an pour affirmer l'engagement vigoureux de l'Amérique à défendre la liberté de la Toile, «cet espace public du XXIe siècle», à la fois «agora, salle de classe, salle de marchés, café et boîte de nuit», qui rassemble 2 milliards d'utilisateurs.

Pour la secrétaire d'État américaine, «la défense des libertés de parole, d'assemblée et d'association en ligne» doit devenir un élément clé de la politique étrangère des États-Unis. Ce plaidoyer s'inscrit dans le sillage de la philosophie américaine depuis les origines, pariant sur l'ouverture comme force de progrès. Même si l'Amérique est consciente qu'il faut engager «une conversation sérieuse sur les règles» permettant d'assurer ce principe de liberté, «les bénéfices» de la libre utilisation d'Internet sont «bien supérieurs aux coûts», a lancé Hillary Clinton à la face des gouvernements qui, de la Chine à la Russie en passant par la Syrie, Cuba ou la Birmanie, invoquent «la sécurité» pour organiser «la répression» en ligne. Avis aux régimes autoritaires: l'Amérique se range du côté des internautes. >>> Par Laure Mandeville | Jeudi 17 Février 2011

Google Takes On Censorship of the Web
THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Once relatively indifferent to government affairs, Google Inc. is seeking help inside the Beltway to fight the rise of Web censorship worldwide.

The online search giant is taking a novel approach to the problem by asking U.S. trade officials to treat Internet restrictions as international trade barriers, similar to other hurdles to global commerce, such as tariffs.

Google sees the dramatic increase in government Net censorship, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, as a potential threat to its advertising-driven business model, and wants government officials to consider the issue in economic, rather than just political, terms. Google Asks Gov't to Fight Censorship (more) By Christopher S. Rugaber

Mark Alexander

Web Faces Increasing Censorship Throughout the World
KUWAIT TIMES: LONDON: Internet censorship is growing worldwide, with 26 out of 40 countries blocking or filtering political or social content, a study reported yesterday. The survey carried out by experts at four leading universities found that people in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa were often denied access to information about politics, sexuality, culture or religion. Conducting the first of what is planned to become an annual survey, the experts at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Toronto found that the approach varied according to the country. Internet censorship growing worldwide (more)

Mark Alexander