In the latest show of Middle Eastern online censorship, residents of Turkey who try to visit YouTube are no longer able to. Instead, Turkish internet goers are greeted with a message that when translated into English reads “Access to www.youtube.com site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court.”
Apparently the ban was due to a video, which has since been removed, showing Greek nationals criticizing Turkey and insulting the Turkish flag and its founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
It is illegal to criticise either Ataturk or Turkishness in Turkey and the prosecutor’s office in Istanbul acted despite YouTube’s agreement to take down the offending videos.
Turkish bloggers are up in arms and have vowed to fight this and try to get YouTube reinstated. All internet access in Turkey is provided by a single company, so blocking the site from the country is a relatively easy endeavor.
I can understand the reason for such an outrage, certainly Americans and the US government would be upset if a video surfaced online showing bunch of Iranians or North Koreans mocking our history. However, I think the move on behalf of the Turkish government is a little excessive. I highly doubt that a western government would ever block a site like YouTube over some offensive videos. Not only is YouTube one of the most popular sites on the internet, but it embodies free speech. This is just another example of how Middle Eastern countries differ strongly from western ideals and morals.
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