After the entry into force of a new law for stricter regulation of social media in Turkey, measures have been initiated against providers such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Periscope, YouTube and TikTok, according to official information. A fine of 10 million Turkish lira (about one million euros) was imposed on the platforms, said the deputy minister for transport and infrastructure, Ömer Fatih Sayan, on Twitter on Wednesday With. The reason for the punishment is that no local representatives for Turkey have been appointed within the given period. The providers could not initially be reached for confirmation.

The Turkish parliament passed a law in July that makes social media more strictly controlled . Providers with more than a million Turkish users per day must open branches in Turkey with a Turkish citizen as their representative. Representation by a legal person is also possible. If no representative is registered, penalties are imposed. In addition to the imposition of fines, pages can be rendered virtually unusable. The law also obliges platforms to respond to requests to delete or block certain content within 48 hours.

Turkish media are for the most part under direct or indirect control of the government, and control over content on the Internet has been strengthened again and again. Ankara regularly takes action against users for content on the Internet that is critical of the government.

(axk)