Turkish government surveillance bill

Lysander

Lysander

Lysander

Capodecina
Soldato
Joined
1 Aug 2005
Posts
20,005
Location
Flatland
Right, a little bit of history here. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [informally known as Tayyip] has been increasing his stranglehold over the civil rights of the Turkish people for a while now. He is well-known for hating social media and if he could, he would eradicate it from the face of the planet. The reasons for his hating it are clear and simple: people post videos of his police force bashing the crap out of Turkish citizens for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they spread anti-government images, slogans and statuses. If you don't believe me or think I'm talking leftie craptrap, Google Ceyda Sungur who was just one example of many. Last summer there were plenty of examples of police brutality on FB, with a lot of them being taken down, and anyone who was in vocal opposition to the government on FB having their rights restricted in-country.

The latest amendments allow the Telecommunications Directorate, a body controlled by the government, to pinpoint and order the removal of particular content (URLs) when there is a complaint that a posting violates privacy. The new law justifies new blocking measures as a move to “protect the family, children, and youth from items on the Internet that encourage drug addiction, sexual abuse, and suicide.” But its wide scope in some cases permits the Telecommunications Directorate to block content without a court order or the clear possibility of judicial review, raising concerns that the law extends the possibilities for government censorship.

The new law also extends data retention requirements to “hosting providers” – certain Internet companies, forcing them to collect and retain information about Internet users for up to two years. Internet companies are required to hand this information over to the government upon request, with uncertain protections for the right to privacy.
Click to expand...

So my questions are, how exactly will this thing work? And how different is it to other current/proposed measures in other countries? There's also a petition here if that's your sort of thing:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petitio...key_Veto_the_new_passed_Internet_Law/?aEWnUgb
 
Twitter has now been blocked in Turkey in order to "protect" citizens. When really the PM just doesn't want the truth about his horrifically corrupt regime spreading around and outside the country.

Twitter users in Turkey report that the social media site has been blocked in the country. Some users trying to open the twitter.com website are apparently being redirected to a statement by Turkey's telecommunications regulator.

It cites a court order to apply "protection measures" on the website.

This comes after PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to "wipe out Twitter" following damaging allegations of corruption in his inner circle.
The BBC's James Reynolds in Istanbul reports that he is unable to access Twitter.

"I don't care what the international community says at all. Everyone will see the power of the Turkish Republic," Mr Erdogan said earlier on Thursday.
Click to expand...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26677134
 
Last edited:
I am surprised it's now 2014 and they are only getting serious with this now. As for what you posted, that is the same, in theory, for most other countries.
 
Expect this kind of 'filtering' and 'blocking' to get worse and not just in backwater countries like Turkey. The war for the Internet is this generations cold war.
 
What's going on is a massive shift in attitudes between the older, non-internet generation, and the internet enabled youth in conservative countries. I see a lot of this in places like Egypt, Iran and now Turkey - it even played its part in the Arab spring. Basically the internet has ridden roughshod over traditional state controls enabled the whole world to see what freedom looks in the west, not surprisingly compared to what they have, people say "I want that". The older generation say "We'll stick with what I'm comfortable with thank you" and thus conflict arises.
 
scorza said:
What's going on is a massive shift in attitudes between the older, non-internet generation, and the internet enabled youth in conservative countries. I see a lot of this in places like Egypt, Iran and now Turkey - it even played its part in the Arab spring. Basically the internet has ridden roughshod over traditional state controls enabled the whole world to see what freedom looks in the west, not surprisingly compared to what they have, people say "I want that". The older generation say "We'll stick with what I'm comfortable with thank you" and thus conflict arises.
Click to expand...

Very good and accurate post. It scares the **** out of the Turkish PM because he can't control it or the information posted on it. He tries to get videos removed from FB and Youtube but they're just downloaded and reposted elsewhere. If he could, he would block those sites too [and probably will] which will only lead to further Turkish uprising. The problem is, he's cutting heads off the hydra. The more problems he tries to quell, the more he creates. If he carries on, Turkey will end up in full-scale civil war. The man is a tyrant, supported only by the idiotic fundamentalists who know no better, and the peasantry who he bribes for votes.
 
Last edited:
Not exactly worked out well for the Turkish PM. The Streisland Effect has kicked in and what was a minor issue is now speeding across the rest of the internet like wildfire.

Tinpot dictators will never learn.
 
Stupid move indeed. Though I know a lot of Turks who do not consider this guy is in the wrong in relation to what's happening in the country, so I wouldn't jump to conclusions and call him a tyrant.

Lysander said:
Very good and accurate post. It scares the **** out of the Turkish PM because he can't control it or the information posted on it. He tries to get videos removed from FB and Youtube but they're just downloaded and reposted elsewhere. If he could, he would block those sites too [and probably will] which will only lead to further Turkish uprising. The problem is, he's cutting heads off the hydra. The more problems he tries to quell, the more he creates. If he carries on, Turkey will end up in full-scale civil war. The man is a tyrant, supported only by the idiotic fundamentalists who know no better, and the peasantry who he bribes for votes.
Click to expand...

Sorry off-topic but you do realise that the Arabic script you have in your sig is written the other way around and apparently does not make sense at all, don't you?
 
elJarmen said:
Sorry off-topic but you do realise that the Arabic script you have in your sig is written the other way around and apparently does not make sense at all, don't you?
Click to expand...

It's just an Anglicised Arabesque style, it's not supposed to mean anything but my name. Just how if you write something in English in MS Symbol font it says nothing sensible in Greek.

elJarmen said:
Stupid move indeed. Though I know a lot of Turks who do not consider this guy is in the wrong in relation to what's happening in the country, so I wouldn't jump to conclusions and call him a tyrant.
Click to expand...

Please be more specific. He is the sole reason for the dissent in Turkey. I suppose you think the removal of Gezi Park for a shopping mall, as well as jailing 20% of his generals, selling the forests for foreign investment, banning the sale of alcohol past 10pm, planning to tear down the Ataturk Cultural Centre and trying to force an increasingly Western-minded people further into Islamic fundamentalism doesn't cause any problems?
 
Last edited:
"The new law justifies new blocking measures as a move to “protect the family, children, and youth from items on the Internet that encourage drug addiction, sexual abuse, and suicide.” But its wide scope in some cases permits the Telecommunications Directorate to block content without a court order or the clear possibility of judicial review, raising concerns that the law extends the possibilities for government censorship."

UK is trying to move in this direction... pretty worrying.
 
Lysander said:
Please be more specific. He is the sole reason for the dissent in Turkey. I suppose you think the removal of Gezi Park for a shopping mall, as well as jailing 20% his generals, selling the forests for foreign investment, banning the sale of alcohol past 10pm, planning to tear down the Ataturk Cultural Centre and trying to force an increasingly Western-minded people further into Islamic fundamentalism doesn't cause any problems?
Click to expand...

I can't be more specific because I'm not following what's going on there at all. Just reporting what I learned from a discussion with some Turk friends I have. To them there are external parties that would be particularly better off with Turkey tumbling for a bit, as it's recent boom started to threaten neighbouring countries statuses as economic hubs etc. They explained to me that that park incident as well as the Alcohol one were extremely blown out of proportion and used to create anarchy and send the country into turmoil.

Just like most things happening on the political arena nowadays, it's not a matter of black and white and you'll find it very hard to take camps. Needless to say, world is a ***ed up place recently :)

Edit: Since you mention Alcohol I could think of a few non-Muslim countries that ban selling Alcohol past 10PM. This is what I meant ; exaggerations and picky picking government statements without any context by the people who want to create unnecessary mess.
 
Last edited:
elJarmen said:
They explained to me that that park incident as well as the Alcohol one were extremely blown out of proportion and used to create anarchy and send the country into turmoil.
Click to expand...

They weren't blown out of proportion at all. As isolated incidents, I would agree with you, but they were what the majority of Turkish people saw as the last straw in a long line of incidents in eroding their rights. Gezi Park ended up becoming a symbol for something far greater, and saving the park was transformed into saving free speech and individuality for the Turkish people whereas the PM used it as a crowbar method to convince people that it was just the few who were using it as an excuse for anarchy and turmoil. The way the police handled the whole situation was disgusting, with people getting beaten just while walking home in the streets, with the recent example of the 15 year old Berkin Elvan who went into a coma and died because he was shot while out buying bread being a good example. I went to Istanbul myself during the protests and saw police waiting round every corner with their TOMAs while the streets were peaceful. Sounds like your friends have just been convinced by the Erdogan camp.

But really my point in addressing this topic is not to get into a right/left political debate since if someone is already on that side it's pretty hard to bring them over. It's just to get the awareness out there.

elJarmen said:
Just like most things happening on the political arena nowadays, it's not a matter of black and white and you'll find it very hard to take camps. Needless to say, world is a ***ed up place recently :)
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
Last edited:
murah said:
"The new law justifies new blocking measures as a move to “protect the family, children, and youth from items on the Internet that encourage drug addiction, sexual abuse, and suicide.” But its wide scope in some cases permits the Telecommunications Directorate to block content without a court order or the clear possibility of judicial review, raising concerns that the law extends the possibilities for government censorship."

UK is trying to move in this direction... pretty worrying.
Click to expand...


You'd be surprised how well "think of the children" line works with the great unwashed.
 
Turkey is...was the only stable nation that bridged Europe and Asia Minor, if it is to follow the same steps as other nations, there will be a corridor for them to shift weapons into Europe.

I don't think i can reasonably predict anything any more, but this is a bad thing.
 
Not only that but there are roughly five to six million Turks living inside the EU with maybe 3M of Turkish decent inside Germany alone. It was only natural they would make a power play to get control over them. Turkey has always been an Islamists wet dream. Not only due they have support in the Balkans due to the forced rape and conversion of all the people there but now they want the 6M firmly under Allah's command.



Erdogan is not exactly shy about his intentions nor are the Ataturks shy about what they think of Erdogan. This is the same guy who lets Isis roam all over Southern Turkey and kill Kurds. The same guy telling all the Turks not to integrate into western society. Not a chance this lot will get EU membership hopefully they throw him from power and make a decision before things get worse and something bigger than Twitter gets taken down. They could do a lot worse than looking at the family of Ataturk still. I saw his daughter on TV once and she seems a lovely woman.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom