YouTube working in Turkey again

ISTANBUL, TURKEY: Turkey has finally lifted a controversial ban on YouTube, days after the country's top court ruled that it breached the right to free speech.

4 Jun 2014

Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan banned YouTube in March but the ban has been lifted after the country's top court ruled it was unconstitutional. Image: Wikipedia

The media-sharing site was blocked in Turkey on 27 March after it was used to leak alleged audio recordings of top government, military and spy officials discussing military action in neighbouring war-torn Syria.

Internet users in Turkey were widely able to access YouTube on Tuesday (3 June) after the the telecommunications authority (TIB) lifted the block on the site.

Turkey's constitutional court ruled last week that the ban on YouTube violated individual rights and freedoms, clearing the way for access to the service to be revived following the two-month ban.

"The ban has been lifted in line with the constitutional court order," a TIB official told AFP.

The government earlier scrapped a similar ban on Twitter, which was also blocked in March after it was used to spread anonymous leaks implicating Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his key allies in corruption.

The ban on social media sites in the lead-up to the March local elections, in which Erdogan's ruling party won a sweeping victory, were criticised as a step backwards for Turkey's democracy.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

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