Constitutional Court annuls Presidential Communication Directorate's powers
BATIKAN ERKOÇ
The Constitutional Court of Turkey annulled the authority granted to the Presidential Communication Directorate to counteract psychological operations, propaganda, and perception management against the Republic of Turkey, deeming it a violation of freedom of expression and the press. However, the court's website remains inaccessible.
On August 2, the court ruled against the Presidential Decree regulating the Communication Directorate, specifically the powers to manage "strategic communication and crisis management" and to take all necessary measures against "psychological operations, propaganda, and perception management."
The court emphasized that these measures would restrict freedom of expression and the press, reminding that fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be regulated by a presidential decree.
The decision, made in December 2023, passed with a majority of 12 out of 14 members. Members İrfan Fidan and Muhterem İnce voted against it. The ruling also bears the signature of former Constitutional Court President Zühtü Arslan, who resigned in April.
The annulled provisions of Presidential Decree No. 66 on the Organization of the Communication Directorate are as follows:
c) To analyze internal and external threats to the Republic of Turkey and implement necessary measures in terms of strategic communication and crisis management;
ç) To identify psychological operations, propaganda, and perception management activities against the Republic of Turkey and to act against all kinds of manipulation and disinformation.
The court's website is currently inaccessible, and its Twitter post was deleted
Following the restriction of Instagram by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), the Constitutional Court announced its decision to annul the presidential decree on Twitter in the morning, which granted the Communication Directorate powers to interfere with press and expression freedoms. However, the Twitter post regarding the decision was deleted a few minutes later. Simultaneously, the court's official website became inaccessible and remains so at this time.
