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TURKEY REINSTATES YOUTUBE BAN ADVERTISEMENT
By Ece Toksabay
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39926238/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
Nov 3 2010
ISTANBUL
A Turkish court has reinstated a 30-month ban on the popular
video-sharing YouTube website just days after it was removed, deepening
a dispute over online free expression in the European Union candidate
country.
Access to YouTube, a unit of Google Inc, has been blocked by the
Turkish government since May 2008 after users posted videos Turkey
says are insulting to the republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
A court in Ankara on Saturday lifted the ban, which had drawn
widespread criticism of Ankara's restrictive Internet laws, after a
German-based firm at the request of Turkish authorities removed the
videos by using an automated copyright system designed by Google to
protect copyrighted material.
YouTube later said it had reinstated the videos, arguing such videos
did not violate users' copyright.
But a separate court in Ankara ruled that the ban should be reinstated,
this time over a secretly taped video purportedly showing the former
chairman of the opposition, Deniz Baykal, in a bedroom with a female
aide, state news Anatolian said on Tuesday.
Guleser Aykara, a spokeswoman for the Telecommunications Board, said
it was notified of the new ban on Tuesday and would make a decision
by Thursday on whether to implement the ban.
"We will first check if the undesirable content still remains on the
website," Aykara told Reuters.
"YouTube could restrict access to prevent Turkish users from watching
the videos, but may keep it accessible to other users. YouTube may
not reply or may decline our demand, in which case access will be
banned once again."
Google representatives said they were checking the reports and had
no immediate comment.
MORE THAN 5,000 SITES BANNED IN TURKEY
Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) urged the government on Wednesday to
guarantee online free expression in European Union candidate Turkey,
where more than 5,000 sites are banned.
"The YouTube controversy should not eclipse the extent of online
blocking and censorship in Turkey, or the arrests and prosecutions
of bloggers and netizens," RSF said in a statement.
"Thousands of websites are blocked, in most cases for criticizing
Ataturk or the army, for perceived attacks on the nation's 'dignity'
or for referring to Turkey's Kurdish and Armenian minorities, taboo
subjects in Turkey."
Human rights groups and media watchdog associations have long urged
Turkey to reform its harsh Internet laws. Turkey cites offences
including child pornography, insulting Ataturk and encouraging suicide
as justification for blocking websites.
Analysts have criticized the ease with which citizens and politicians
can apply under Turkish law to have an site banned.
Lawyers for Baykal, who resigned in the wake of the so-called "sex
videotape," had asked a judge to ban YouTube citing a violation of
personal privacy.
Turkish visitors to the YouTube site have been able to circumvent
the ban by using proxy websites.
The YouTube ban has attracted particular criticism, and even
President Abdullah Gul has used his Twitter page to condemn it,
urging authorities to find a solution.
Google Inc's legal chief has called for pressure on governments
that censor the Internet, citing China and Turkey, arguing that their
blocking access to websites not only violates human rights but unfairly
restrains U.S. trade.
From: A. Papazian
By Ece Toksabay
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39926238/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
Nov 3 2010
ISTANBUL
A Turkish court has reinstated a 30-month ban on the popular
video-sharing YouTube website just days after it was removed, deepening
a dispute over online free expression in the European Union candidate
country.
Access to YouTube, a unit of Google Inc, has been blocked by the
Turkish government since May 2008 after users posted videos Turkey
says are insulting to the republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
A court in Ankara on Saturday lifted the ban, which had drawn
widespread criticism of Ankara's restrictive Internet laws, after a
German-based firm at the request of Turkish authorities removed the
videos by using an automated copyright system designed by Google to
protect copyrighted material.
YouTube later said it had reinstated the videos, arguing such videos
did not violate users' copyright.
But a separate court in Ankara ruled that the ban should be reinstated,
this time over a secretly taped video purportedly showing the former
chairman of the opposition, Deniz Baykal, in a bedroom with a female
aide, state news Anatolian said on Tuesday.
Guleser Aykara, a spokeswoman for the Telecommunications Board, said
it was notified of the new ban on Tuesday and would make a decision
by Thursday on whether to implement the ban.
"We will first check if the undesirable content still remains on the
website," Aykara told Reuters.
"YouTube could restrict access to prevent Turkish users from watching
the videos, but may keep it accessible to other users. YouTube may
not reply or may decline our demand, in which case access will be
banned once again."
Google representatives said they were checking the reports and had
no immediate comment.
MORE THAN 5,000 SITES BANNED IN TURKEY
Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) urged the government on Wednesday to
guarantee online free expression in European Union candidate Turkey,
where more than 5,000 sites are banned.
"The YouTube controversy should not eclipse the extent of online
blocking and censorship in Turkey, or the arrests and prosecutions
of bloggers and netizens," RSF said in a statement.
"Thousands of websites are blocked, in most cases for criticizing
Ataturk or the army, for perceived attacks on the nation's 'dignity'
or for referring to Turkey's Kurdish and Armenian minorities, taboo
subjects in Turkey."
Human rights groups and media watchdog associations have long urged
Turkey to reform its harsh Internet laws. Turkey cites offences
including child pornography, insulting Ataturk and encouraging suicide
as justification for blocking websites.
Analysts have criticized the ease with which citizens and politicians
can apply under Turkish law to have an site banned.
Lawyers for Baykal, who resigned in the wake of the so-called "sex
videotape," had asked a judge to ban YouTube citing a violation of
personal privacy.
Turkish visitors to the YouTube site have been able to circumvent
the ban by using proxy websites.
The YouTube ban has attracted particular criticism, and even
President Abdullah Gul has used his Twitter page to condemn it,
urging authorities to find a solution.
Google Inc's legal chief has called for pressure on governments
that censor the Internet, citing China and Turkey, arguing that their
blocking access to websites not only violates human rights but unfairly
restrains U.S. trade.
From: A. Papazian