Connect with us

Agnes Isika Blog

Turkey’s Erdogan Says Social Media Is A ‘Threat To Democracy’

Turkey’s Erdogan Says Social Media Is A ‘Threat To Democracy’

Turkish President; Recep Tayyip Erdogan has on Saturday, described social media as one of the main threats to democracy.

Erdogan said his government plans is to pursue legislation to criminalize spreading fake news and disinformation online, but critics say the proposed changes would tighten restrictions on free speech.

“Social media, which was described as a symbol of freedom when it first appeared, has turned into one of the main sources of threat to today’s democracy,” Erdogan said in a video message to a government-organized communications conference in Istanbul.

He added: “We try to protect our people, especially the vulnerable sections of our society, against lies and disinformation without violating our citizens’ right to receive accurate and impartial information.”

Turkey’s Erdogan Says Social Media Is A ‘Threat To Democracy’ Agnesisika blog

The longtime Turkish president said that millions of lives were “darkened” by “channels lacking any effective control mechanism” as such news spread.

Turkey passed a law last year requiring social media platforms that have more than 1 million users to maintain a legal representative and store data in the country. Major social media companies, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, have since established offices in Turkey.

The new legislation would make the dissemination of “disinformation” and “fake news” criminal offenses punishable by up to five years in prison, according to pro-government media reports. It also would establish a social media regulator.

Most of Turkey’s major media companies are under the control of the government, leaving social media as an important outlet for dissenting voices.

Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net report, published in September, characterized Turkey as “not free,” noting the removal of content critical of the government and the prosecution of people posting “undesirable” commentary on social media.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in News

TrueTalk with Agnes

Today's Quote

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”

— Albert Einstein

Trending

Contributors

LAGOS WEATHER
To Top