Turkey Shuts Down YouTube After Security Leak

Turkey Shuts Down YouTube After Security Leak

The Turkish government ordered all internet providers to block the Google owned video website YouTube after a video of a security meeting was leaked. The video contains chiefs of staff discussing a possible intervention in neighboring Syria. The decision comes just one day after a Turkish court ordered the country’s government to lift the ban instated on Twitter one week ago.

Turkey’s telecommunications authority released a press release saying it has taken “administrative measures” to block the video sharing website. While the decision seems to be final, the site is up and running with most Turkish citizens being able to access it and even watch the above mentioned  tape.

Google responded to claims that the website was inaccessible in Turkey declaring that there are no technical issues “on its side.” The ban was active just hours after the tape first appeared on YouTube. It contained a meeting of the country’s military, government and intelligence leaders discussing possible scenarios that lead to an armed intervention in Syria. The government said it will lift the ban if the video is taken down by the company. The leak was called a “vile attack” by the Turkish foreign minister.

The ban marks a new episode in the government attack on social media just before the Sunday regional elections.

Posted by James Fried on Friday March 28 2014, 2:24 AM EST. Ref: hollywoodreporter. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0