Twitter to Appoint Representative to Comply With New Social Media Regulations in Turkey

The regulations require big social media platforms to appoint representatives who can handle court orders to take down offending content within 48 hours.

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 22 March 2021 11:54 IST

In January, Turkey hit Twitter with advertising bans after they failed to appoint a local envoy

Highlights

Turkey's new social media regulations entered into force in October
Non-compliance could lead to fines or restrictions on bandwidth
Facebook has appointed a representative to comply with the Turkish law

Twitter will appoint a local representative in Turkey under a contentious social media law that allows authorities to remove content from platforms, a government official said on Friday.

Turkey's new social media regulations entered into force in October after being passed in parliament by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party.

They require platforms with more than one million unique daily users to appoint representatives who can handle court orders to take down offending content within 48 hours.

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Non-compliance could lead to fines or restrictions on bandwidth, blocking access to the platforms.

In January, Turkey hit Twitter, Pinterest, and Periscope with advertising bans after they failed to appoint a local envoy to take down contentious posts under the law.

Facebook has appointed a representative to comply with the Turkish law.

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Turkey's deputy minister for infrastructure Omer Fatih Sayan said on Friday that Twitter would follow the suit, the Anadolu state news agency reported.

Rights advocates see the new regulations as part of the government's attempt to control social media and clamp down on dissent.

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