“84 Twitter Accounts Withheld During Kobane Protests”

Minister of Transportation, Maritime and Communication Lütfi Elvan made a statement saying that they are working on to issue fines for internet companies that don’t comply with Turkish court orders regarding content removals or restrictions. 

According to Anatolia Agency (AA), Elvan said that while he is against restrictions or bans on social media, however there were some “flaws on the moral level” on social media. 

Some of the highlights from Elvan’s statement are as follows: 

“In the beginning, we observe that Twitter now takes court orders into account while it didn’t do in the past. However, they didn’t comply with opening an office in Turkey. They told officials that they would work on it, however a step is yet to be taken,” he said. 

Twitter, on the other hand, announced that they are not planning to open an office in Turkey. 

“Let’s say that there is a court order on content restriction. If the restriction isn’t imposed or removed by the company, they will face a penalty. Therefore, the court order will be binding effect.”

Minister Elvan also added that 84 accounts have been withheld across Turkey during Kobane protest between October 6 and 8. (EA/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.