Tens of news reports and websites were blocked by court orders in Turkey in the month of May, including to various data breeches, that went ignored by the authorities. Here are some highlights:
Reports on a $168 million lawsuit against a Turkish and Qatari company in the U.S. have been blocked, according to Free Web Turkey. The Istanbul 9th Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued the blocking order on May 14. The lawsuit alleges defective uniforms were sold to the Ukrainian military by an Istanbul-based company.
At the request of the involved company, access was also blocked to reports from Nokta Bursa Newspaper, business news platform Beyaz Yakarış, and a post on İş'te Gündem's Instagram account related to the allegations.
Death at Dr. Muzaffer Kuşhan’s clinic sparks content blocking
News about the 2008 death of Dila Kurt at Dr. Muzaffer Kuşhan's weight loss clinic in Polonezköy, Istanbul, was blocked following Kuşhan's request. Kurt died of a heart attack, leading to Kuşhan's imprisonment and subsequent release during the state of emergency. The Istanbul Anatolian 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace ordered the blocking of 101 related news and social media posts on May 14.
Social media account blocks
The Twitter account of the Socialist Youth Associations Federation (@sgdfiletisim_) has been blocked in Turkey by court order. Additionally, on May 3, 306 news reports, including two Twitter accounts related to businessman Fehmi Öztürk, were blocked following a request by former AKP Diyarbakır MP Cuma İçten. The blocked content involved allegations that Öztürk had been defrauded by former associates, including İçten.
U.S. police attack on pro-Palestinian students report blocked
A report on U.S. police attacking pro-Palestinian students was blocked in Turkey at the request of former AKP MP Cuma İçten. The Küçükçekmece 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued the order, deeming the report false and inflammatory.
Court invalidates inadequate BTK response on bandwidth restrictions
A court invalidated the Information and Communication Technologies Authority’s (BTK) response to the Turkish Bar Association regarding bandwidth restrictions imposed after the February 6 earthquakes. The court ruled in favor of the Bar Association, which had deemed BTK's response inadequate.
Access blocked to talkSPORT's website
Access to the UK-based sports radio station talkSPORT's website (talksport.com) has been blocked in Turkey by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority on May 3.
Censorship of earthquake-related news
Access was blocked to reports on the detention of individuals responsible for the collapse of the Diyar Galeria Business Center during the February 6 earthquakes in Diyarbakır, which killed 35 people. The Istanbul 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued the order on April 29.
Repeated blocks on Jiangzaitoon's LGBT+ content
The BTK has blocked access to Jiangzaitoon, a platform for LGBT+ manga translations, for the seventh time, with no reasons provided for the repeated bans.
Former cooperative head's news blocked
Reports on former AKP MP and former Agriculture and Credit Cooperatives General Manager Fahrettin Poyraz receiving multiple salaries were blocked by the Bilecik Criminal Judgeship of Peace on May 9. Tweets from MPs Cemal Enginyurt and Veli Ağbaba on this topic were also blocked.
Data breach affecting 25 companies
The personal data of 800,435 customers from 25 companies, including Sarar and Bernardo, were stolen, according to a Free Web Turkey report.
Access blocked to other media and social media accounts
- The Twitter accounts of Mücadele Birliği Gazetesi (@mucadelebirlig3) and Özgür Gelecek Gazetesi (@ozgur__gelecek) have been blocked.
- Journalist Ahmet Kanbal’s Twitter account (@ahmetkanball) has been blocked.
- Reports on stockbroker Kemal Akkaya's alleged involvement in ID theft for stock manipulation were blocked by the Istanbul 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace on April 30.
Nurgül Göksu's social media accounts shut down
Nurgül Göksu's Twitter account was closed after her posts about the collapse of Ezgi Apartment in the February 6 earthquakes. Göksu lost family members in the disaster and had been critical of those she holds responsible. She has since resumed posting from new accounts.
