Turkey blocks entry to Deutsche Welle and Voice of America

Turkey’s media watchdog has banned entry to the Turkish providers of US public service broadcaster Voice of America and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, prompting criticism of censorship.

The Supreme Board of Radio and Television enforced a February determination requiring worldwide media that air tv content material in Turkish on-line to use for a broadcast license. An Ankara court docket dominated to limit entry to the web sites of the state-owned Deutsche Welle and Voice of America late Thursday.

Neither web site was out there in Turkey on Friday. In a press release, Deutsche Welle mentioned it didn’t adjust to the licensing requirement as a result of it “would have allowed the Turkish government to censor editorial content”.

Director common Peter Limbourg mentioned this was defined intimately to the Turkish radio and TV board, abbreviated as RTUK.

“For example, media licensed in Turkey are required to delete online content that RTUK interprets as inappropriate. This is simply unacceptable for an independent broadcaster. DW will take legal action against the blocking that has now taken place,” Limbourg mentioned.

Ilhan Tasci, a RTUK member from Turkey’s primary opposition Republican People’s Party, mentioned he opposed the transfer to dam the 2 international broadcasters. The board utilized to the court docket for the entry restriction, he mentioned.

“Here is press freedom and advanced democracy,” he tweeted sarcastically.

The board is dominated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling get together and its nationalist allies, and often fines vital broadcasters.

The Journalists Union of Turkey known as the choice censorship. “Give up on trying to ban everything you don’t like, this society wants freedom,” it tweeted.
In February, RTUK mentioned it recognized three web sites with out broadcast licenses, which additionally included the Turkish providers of Euronews. But Euronews mentioned it argued that it didn’t broadcast stay in Turkish or air visible bulletins and was due to this fact exempt from the licensing necessities.

Voice of America famous in February that whereas licensing for TV and radio broadcasts is a norm as a result of broadcast airwaves are finite sources, the web doesn’t have restricted bandwidth.

“The only possible purpose of a licensing requirement for internet distribution is enabling censorship,” VOA mentioned in a press release.

For broadcast airwaves, “Governments have a recognised responsibility to regulate the spectrum to ensure it is used in the broader public’s interest,” it mentioned.
State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted when the licensing regulation emerged in February that the US was involved with RTUK’s “decision to expand government control over free press outlets”.

In response, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic famous that the US required Turkey’s state English-language broadcaster, TRT World, to register as a international agent underneath a regulation meant for lobbyists and public relations corporations working for international governments. TRT mentioned it was newsgathering and reporting like
another worldwide media.

“TRT abides by relevant regulations for its activities in the US Is that censorship? We expect the same from @VoATurkish and others,” Bilgic tweeted.

Turkey was rated “Not Free” for 2021 on the Freedom of the Net index by Freedom House. Hundreds of 1000’s of domains and net addresses have been blocked.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey at 149 out of 180 nations in its World Press Freedom Index, saying “all possible means are used to undermine critics”, together with stripping journalists of press playing cards, on-line censorship, lawsuits and arrests.