Social Media Censorship in Turkey
Artist:
Year: 2014
Date of Action: March 19, 2014
Location: Turkey
Subject: Government Secrecy, Political/Economic/Social Opinion
Medium: Film/Video "Film/Video" is not in the list (Commercial Advertising, Dance, Design, Installation, Journalism, Literature, Mixed Media, Music, Online, Painting, ...) of allowed values for the "Has medium" property., Mixed Media, Online
Confronting Bodies: President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Turkish Government
Description of Artwork: Social Media Platforms such as Youtube, Facebook, SoundCloud, Vimeo, and Twitter.
The Incident: According to the article, Turkey's President, Abdullah Gul, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have put into place several amendments that would regulate internet activity. The amendments are known as 5651 and they pose a threat to media freedom in Turkey. The amendments would regulate the content of Youtube, Facebook, and other social media sites. Because of recent wiretapped telephone conversations being leaked on several social media sites, Erdogan wants to make sure that this doesn't occur again. He wants to oversee and control internet activity in order to prevent content that could attack his government party and the integrity of it.
Results of Incident: As a result of this incident, the media industry in Turkey has responded with protests and retaliation. Debates about free speech are taking place all over Turkey, with the future of the media is at stake.