New social media regulations aim to provide safer platforms for all
THE DRAFT legislation prepared by Turkey’s ruling party on new social media regulations includes several features to ensure that social media giants follow the rules, provide safer platforms for all users and consider other global examples.
The details of the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) bill revealed by Hürriyet daily yesterday include the protection of personal data and obliges social media outlets like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to have representatives in the country for removing unlawful content and to block off access to harmful content.
The report noted that similar examples used in Germany and France will be taken into consideration as reference. Germany introduced the Network Enforcement Act in 2017, obliging social networks to remove hate speech, set up an independent body to review and respond to reports of offensive content from the public, rather than the individual companies doing that themselves. Failure to remove such content within 24 hours means that the social media networks could face fines of up to 50 million euros ($56.4 million). Likewise, a provision requires platforms to send suspected criminal content directly to German police when reported by a user.
AK Party lawmakers noted that the regulations would aim to prevent fake accounts and will bring penalties for hate speech.
The draft legislation is expected to be reviewed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan soon.
AK Party is also discussing the matter with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), whose leader Devlet Bahçeli recently closed his social media accounts following Erdoğan’s calls to bring safer regulations for everyone.
“Channels, where lies, slander, personal rights attacks and reputation conspiracies are out of control, must be brought into order,” the president said Wednesday, referring to increasing defamation campaigns in Turkey toward politicians as well as ordinary people. His comments came after hate speech against Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, his wife Esra Albayrak and their newborn surfaced on Twitter.
Reform of social media regulations had been on the government’s agenda for a long time, with AK Party politicians emphasizing the need for the protection of personal data and reputation.
“What if your phone is hacked and you have your private photos stolen and published on Twitter or Facebook? Every citizen should be entitled to the protection of their reputation online. It is my duty to ensure all citizens can use social media efficiently and on moral ground. We are preparing a strong legal structure to ensure it. Legal regulations will help our nation to access rich and trustworthy online content,” Erdoğan said last week.
Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun issued a statement shortly after Erdoğan’s remarks on Wednesday, saying that his words were taken out of context. Altun highlighted that the president had defended rights and freedoms against antidemocratic structures and ideologies. Altun noted that the regulations would strive to protect citizens from sexual exploitation, gambling, fraud, terror propaganda, hate speech and more while ensuring that social media platforms are held accountable and pay necessary taxes in the country.
In 2015, Twitter appointed a coordinator for Turkey while ignoring calls by Ankara to set up an office in the country.
Other social media giants have also been avoiding setting up permanent offices in Turkey to avoid paying taxes. For instance, Twitter alone generates $35 million a year in advertising revenue in Turkey, none of which is taxed locally.