Turkey turns off Twitter
Is the move by Turkey’s regulator to block the social media site an isolated move or the start of greater restrictions?
Critics of the Turkish Government have been turning increasingly to social media to voice their opposition.
Now one site – Twitter – has been blocked, after accusations of corruption concerning the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his inner circle.
Allegations that have been denied.
There have been threats also to ban Facebook and YouTube.
And the government also recently tightened control of the internet – nearly 8,000 websites are jammed.
But Turkish users of Twitter have already found ways around the the ban including the President Abdullah Gul, who tweeted – ‘A complete ban of social media platforms cannot be approved.’
So, what does this mean for freedom of expression in Turkey?
Presenter: Mike Hanna
Guests: Asli Tunc, Professor of Communications and Head of Media School at Istanbul Bilgi University.
Yavuz Baydar, Co-founder of the Independent Media Platform ‘P24’ and writer for the Turkish Newspaper, Today’s Zaman.
Ceylan Ozbudak, a Turkish political analyst. Television news presenter and the Executive Director of the non governmental organisation Building Bridges.