Turkey has blocked access to instant messaging platform Discord in line with a court decision after the platform refused to share information demanded by Ankara, Turkish authorities said on Wednesday.
Turkey's Information Technologies and Communication Authority published the access ban decision on its website © Mena Today
Turkey has blocked access to instant messaging platform Discord in line with a court decision after the platform refused to share information demanded by Ankara, Turkish authorities said on Wednesday.
The San Francisco-based company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Turkey's Information Technologies and Communication Authority published the access ban decision on its website.
Justice minister Yilmaz Tunc said an Ankara court decided to block access to Discord from Turkey due to sufficient suspicion that crimes of "child sexual abuse and obscenity" had been committed by some using the platform.
The block comes after public outrage in Turkey caused by the murder of two women by a 19-year-old man in Istanbul this month. Content on social media showed Discord users subsequently praising the killing.
Transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the nature of the Discord platform made it difficult for authorities to monitor and intervene when illegal or criminal content is shared.
"Security personnel cannot go through the content. We can only intervene when users complain to us about content shared there," he told reporters in parliament.
"Since Discord refuses to share its own information, including IP addresses and content, with our security units, we were forced to block access."
On Tuesday, Russia's communications regulator blocked Discord for violating Russian law, after previously fining the company for failing to remove banned content, the TASS news agency reported.
Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Nevzat Devranoglu
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party has postponed discussions in parliament of a bill that includes changes to support investments and the country's defence industry fund following strong criticism, a senior AKP lawmaker said.
The International Monetary Fund called for continued tight, data-driven monetary policy in Turkey until inflation converges to target as it concluded an Article IV consultation.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Greece to discuss and find solutions to bilateral issues, including maritime zones and airspace, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.