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TurkishGovernmentRestricts Internet Access; ErdoganComparedToHitler
"RememberthatAdolfHitlerusedthesamemethodswhen he rose topower," opposition leader Hasan Oren blasts as Turkish PM Erdogan as the Turkish parliament has approved a bill that would tighten government controls over the internet. As TheBBCreports, the new law allows the governmenttoblock websites withoutfirstseeking a courtruling. "Nowyou are implementingfascism," Oren goes on, despite promises of "enhancing democracy in Turkey" when Erdogan was elected. The Erdogan government had already restricted access to "the scourge of Twitter" and Facebook’s "menace to society," but this latest step dismissesany legal limitsorrestrictions.
The Turkish parliament has approved a bill that would tighten government controls over the internet.
The new lawwillallowTurkey’stelecommunicationsauthoritytoblock websites withoutfirstseeking a courtruling.
It will also force internet providers to store data on web users’ activities for two years and make it available to the authorities.
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been openly critical of the internet,calling Twitter a "scourge" andcondemning social media as "theworstmenacetosociety".
Both Twitter and Facebook werewidelyusedbyanti-governmentprotesters to spread information during demonstrations last year.
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"When you came to power you talked of enhancing democracy in Turkey – nowyou are tryingto implement fascism," he said.
"Remember that Adolf Hitler used the same methods when he rose to power."
However, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said there was "no such thing as internet censorship" in Turkey.
"We are freer compared to many other countries and have freedom of the press," he said.
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the new powers meant Turkey’s telecommunications agency would be able to "gather communications data about all internet users without any legal limits or restrictions" and with users "never… able to know when and how this information is gathered".
We suspect some other sites that are awkwardly telling the truth about Turkey will soon be censored.
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