Turkey has just imposed a ban on advertising on certain popular social media platforms. This includes the likes of Twitter, Pinterest, and Periscope, which faced the ban by the country’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority.
According to a Reuters report, the advertising ban arrives after the government recently passed a new social media law. For those unaware, the new law requires social media tech giant firms to appoint a local representative in Turkey. At the moment, Facebook and a few other companies have stated that they would be complying with the local law and appoint such a representative. Although, critics have stated that this move will restrain dissent.
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Similar to Facebook, other major platforms like YouTube have also decided to appoint a representative. The new decision adopted in the Official Gazette went into effect earlier today (19h January 2021). However, Twitter and its live streaming application Periscope have yet to comment on the matter, which is also true for the image sharing app Pinterest. The new law will allow the authorities to remove content from social media platforms rather than just block access to them, like in the past.
This has raised concerns for many regarding the government’s move of restricting content and tightening the grip around online platforms and mainstream media as well. Turkey has already fined companies like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter for not complying with local laws previously, with failure to comply now would have the firms face a bandwidth slash of 90 percent, which basically completely blocks access to their websites.
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