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Deutsche Welle and the VOA Turkish service are the latest media outlets whose websites have been blocked by Turkish authorities.
Analysts say Turkish authorities have long wanted to block critical media outlets, while despite internet controls, residents have become able to bypass them.
For journalists inside Turkey, the media regulator’s decisions to block access to the websites of the Turkish service of Deutsche Welle and VOA come as no surprise.
Ali Ergin Demirhan, editor of the online news site “Sendika” has been fighting against court orders and attempts by the authorities to block it since 2015.
“This censorship, especially online, increased in Turkey after 2010. 2015 was a turning point; our website was blocked for the first time, along with 107 other online media”, says Ali Ergin Demirhan, editor of the online news site “Sendika”.
Turkey’s media regulator, known as RTUK, ruled in late June with a court order to block access to the Turkish-language service of VOA and Deutsche Welle after international public broadcasters failed to apply for licenses the regulator had requested.
Turkey ranks almost like China and Iran for internet censorship. But even as Ankara blocks thousands of websites, internet users have become adept at circumventing the bans.
“Since 2007, for the last 15 years, the government made 18 amendments to the Internet law. All 18 of these changes were a new attempt to ban or shut down websites because previous attempts had failed. Residents have learned how to avoid these bans”, says the technology expert.
Now in Turkey, Deutsche Welle and VOA in Turkish are still available on social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube.
Also, these two media can be read online through the “Tor” program, which protects the identity and location of a user.
Another way is by using virtual private networks, also known as VPNs, which create a secure private connection between a computer and the Internet to bypass government restrictions.
“The government tried to ban all virtual private networks and this ban is still officially in place. This ban is not only for people who want to receive various information, but also for businesses. But the ban is not strictly enforced. There are dozens of companies that offer this service. For example, I pay 4 dollars a month”, says Atilla Yesilada, a political analyst in Turkey.
Turkey’s media regulator says the Turkish-language VOA service and Deutsche Welle can only be brought back online if they receive a license. But both broadcasters say this could allow the Turkish government to censor content.
Even the Turkish journalist Ali Ergin Demirhan says that this argument is true, while he himself is continuing the challenge to oppose the numerous court orders that want to censor the online news site “Sendika”.
“We had a record number of detentions: 64 times, we were blocked,” he says.
The US and Germany have condemned the bans on their broadcasters.
Even the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has said that this measure is “contrary to democratic values”.
But Ankara insists that the rule of law is essential in a democracy.
Despite measures to censor free media, residents in Turkey can still watch Deutsche Welle and VOA using methods that bypass censorship. Voice of America
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