Turkey’s New Internet Law Criticised By EU

Turkey’s New Internet Law Criticised By EU

The European Union has criticized Turkey’s newly adopted law that aims to increase control over internet access. This is a new warning released by Brussels regarding Turkey’s direction after the country was once aspiring to become a European Union member.

The new law, approved by the Turkish parliament this Wednesday can still be overthrown in the unlikely scenario that President Abdullah Gul refuses to sign the bill. The law will give increased powers to state run telecom regulators, giving them the ability to demand that internet providers forbid access to webpages that can pose a privacy risk.

The EU said that the law clearly restricts freedom of expression and mentioned two of the most absurd requirements. The requirements are that Turkish internet providers should monitor online comments and keep browser histories for up to two years.

According to Peter Stano, European Commission spokesman, the Turkish people need more freedom and more transparency from their government. They do not need restrictive laws, especially ones that inhibit their usage of the internet. He advised the Turkish parliament to revise the law in line with European standards.

Martin Schulz, EU parliament president commented via Twitter that the law’s approval by the Turkish parliament was a huge step back in an already harsh environment for freedom of press.

Posted by James Fried on Friday February 07 2014, 4:07 AM EST. Ref: FT. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0