In order to give the government more authority in the months before elections, Turkey made it a crime to broadcast what the authorities consider incorrect information on internet platforms.
The proposal was part of a larger “disinformation” law that was approved by parliament on Thursday. It was introduced by the ruling AK Party and its nationalist allies MHP. Users who publish online content that provides “false information on the country’s security, public order, and overall welfare in an attempt to cause panic or fear” are subject to a one- to three-year prison sentence.
The measure has been criticised as censorship by media organisations and opposition parties, who perceive it as an attempt to silence critics and journalists before of scheduled elections.
Vice President of the European Federation of Journalists Mustafa Kuleli remarked, “The offence is described using somewhat imprecise and open-ended language. “How prosecutors will pursue people who are accused of spreading misleading information is unclear.”
Other sections of the law cover topics including revisions, the distribution of press credentials, and how to correct “false” material posted online.
Assistive Censorship
Turkey is ranked 149th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, which claims that 90% of the country’s media is governed by the government. The group claims that the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has increased attacks on journalists in order to divert attention away from the economy and other issues ahead of elections.
A controversial law requiring social media companies with more than 1 million daily users in Turkey to appoint local representatives and granting authorities wider authority to ban access to websites was passed in Turkey in 2020.
Erdogan has also threatened to block access to some social media sites numerous times, claiming what he saw as personal assaults against him and his family. The platforms, in his words, are “a menace to democracy” and “a issue for national security.”
Years of legal battles resulted in YouTube and Wikipedia bans, while Twitter access was severely restricted during periods of heightened unrest like cross-border incursions into Syria and domestic terrorist attacks.
Kuleli claimed that rather than combating misinformation, the measure will “increase systematic censorship and self-censorship in Turkey.”
