Restricted Access and Blocking Websites, Internet Regulations and Turkey Practices

Abstract

In Turkey, access blocking to websites by judicial orders has especially come into spotlight with the blocking of globally renowned websites such as www.youtube.com and www.wordpress.com. After the police operations in 2006 concentrating on internet child pornography, the need for legal provisions to regulate internet has started to be widely discussed and Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by means of Such Publications was enacted on 25 May, 2007. This law has generally defined the actors related to internet and has regulated the access blocking in the scheme of suppression of the crimes listed below. Telecommunications Communication Presidency is entitled to the enforcement of the law that has come into effect as of 23 October 2007.  Chapter 19 aims to trace the short history of access blocking and try to assess the subject in the light of cases from the applications in Turkey.