Police used water cannon and fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters that gathered in Istanbul's central Taksim Square on Saturday for a rally calling against a bill that would tighten government control over the Internet.
Protesters ran to the side streets to escape the water cannons and teargas that police used on the peaceful demonstration.
Protest against internet censorship in Istanbul started to turn ugly thanks to police #StopInternetCensorshipInTurkeypic.twitter.com/0qogPERNPZ
— RedHack_EN (@RedHack_EN) January 18, 2014
Clashes between riot police & Anti-Internet #StopInternetCensorshipInTurkey protesters in #Istanbul , now! pic.twitter.com/XhCZllpKOl
— ℂ⋆ Ϝ ϓ ſ Ϟ (@T___U___R___K) January 18, 2014
Çevik Kuvvet barikat kurdu.18:03 #18Ocakta18deTaksimepic.twitter.com/ReADVi4A7S
— Adsız İleti (@Bilhakika) January 18, 2014
Smaller rallies have been held around Turkey including the
capital Ankara and coastal city of Izmir.
In Ankara about 300 protesters gathered chanting slogans opposing
the government and the internet bill, calling the Turkish prime
minister ‘a dictator.’
#Ankara #SansüreDurDe eylemi "Diktatör istifa" sloganıyla devam ediyor. pic.twitter.com/ukV0nm5epC
— mert (@mertskaplan) January 18, 2014
Activists have called for protests against the law further limiting the use of the Internet and social media. The campaign is circulating the internet with the hashtag #sansüredurde (#StopInternetCensorshipinTurkey).
The bill that includes the controversial law was backed by a
Turkish parliamentary committee on Thursday. It will be discussed
by the National Assembly next week.
Prepared by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy the bill
amends Law No. 5651, widely known as Turkey’s Internet Law that
came into effect in July 2007.
The new legislation allows government ministers to block websites
deemed to infringe privacy, as well as force internet providers
to retain information on their users, for up to two years. The
bill also mandates ISPs to restrict access to proxy sites, making
circumventing the censorship nearly impossible.
The new legislation also raises fines for not removing the
content requested by the authorities. If the content is not
removed within 24 hours after the request, it will be blocked by
the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB). Appealing against
blocking would only be possible after the event. “The law
also allows URL-based blocking of websites and the users will not
be able to access these by changing their DNS settings,”
Hurriyet explains.
In addition, web hosting services will be required to become part
of a state-controlled association, which will be a mediator
between the TİB and the hosting services. The amendment also
gives the courts power to remove material from the internet that
"violates individual rights" upon request from
individuals and government officials.
Türkiye bugün çeşitli şehirlerde internet sansürüne karşı Protesto yaptı. Polis gene bir çok vatandaşı yaraladı! pic.twitter.com/ZWwCkCp6oD
— ℂ⋆ Ϝ ϓ ſ Ϟ (@T___U___R___K) January 18, 2014
Critics argued that the law will enhance monitoring internet
user’s activities and will allow officials to limit keywords,
local Hurriyet daily reported. The newspaper added that the head
of TİB will now be given enough authority to directly limit
access, pending a court ruling.