Turkey Approves New Law to Restrict Internet

Local Editor

Despite opposition from press freedom and human rights groups, Turkey's parliament has approved legislation that will tighten government controls over the Internet.

The new law will allow Turkey's telecommunications authority to block websites for a privacy violation without a prior court decision without first seeking a court ruling.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been openly critical of the internet, calling Twitter a "scourge" and condemning social media as "the worst menace to society".

Both Twitter and Facebook were widely used by anti-government protesters to spread information during demonstrations last year.
The new measures were adopted after hours of debate in parliament where Mr Erdogan's governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) dominates with 319 of the 550 seats.

At the start of the debate, opposition MP Hasan Oren compared Mr Erdogan to Adolf Hitler.

"When you came to power you talked of enhancing democracy in Turkey - now you are trying to implement fascism," he said.

"Remember that Adolf Hitler used the same methods when he rose to power."
However, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said there was "no such thing as internet censorship" in Turkey.
"We are freer compared to many other countries and have freedom of the press," he said.

The government claims the law will protect privacy and not amount to censorship.

Source: Agencies