As Expected, Turkey's YouTube Ban Is Back On

from the but-of-course... dept

Can't say this one was a surprise. In discussing the lifting of the ban on YouTube in Turkey earlier this week, we pointed out that officials claimed that "common sense prevailed," but they didn't mean the sort of common sense that many of us thought: they lifted the ban because they thought (incorrectly) that YouTube was willing to censor content on their behalf. But, that's not the case, and the video was only taken down due to a bogus copyright claim.

The video has since been reinstated... and so has the ban. The latest ban, however, is not about that same video, but a different video that a Turkish court found objectionable, which gives even more reasons to suggest that YouTube is going to remain mostly banned in Turkey for a long time. Every time someone finds an "objectionable" video, the entire site gets blocked? Yeah, don't expect to view much YouTube in Turkey.

Filed Under: censorship, turkey, videos, youtube
Companies: google, youtube

Turkey Lifts YouTube Ban... But Only After Someone Made Questionable Copyright Claim On 'Offending' Video

from the censorship-by-copyright dept

It's been years since Turkey "banned" access to YouTube in the country, after some (apparently Greek) users uploaded a video making fun of the country's founder, Ataturk (which is considered a crime in Turkey). The ban has been considered ridiculous by nearly everyone. Earlier this year, reporters started speaking up about how stupid the ban was, followed by Turkey's own President, Abdullah Gul, complaining about the bans (via Twitter of all places), saying that he was against the ban on YouTube (and other parts of Google) and had asked the "responsible institutions for a solution." The issue, apparently is that the bans come from a different part of the government -- one that is highly bureaucratic, with a person who heads the (I kid you not) "Ataturk Thought Association," claiming that the block is "about respect" for Ataturk and saying that she is "not bothered by the impact of the court decision."

However, over the weekend the news came out that the YouTube ban has been lifted, with a bureaucrat in charge saying that "common sense prevailed." At first, you might agree... until you read further. It appears by "common sense prevailed" -- he doesn't mean that the bureaucrats realized how ridiculous it is to ban an entire website based on one immature video uploaded by random users... but in that the video had been taken down off of YouTube. That's because after saying that, he also said:

"I hope that they have also learned from this experience and the same thing will not happen again. YouTube will hopefully carry out its operations in Turkey within the limits of law in the future."

So... what happened to the video? Well, it's been taken down, but YouTube has stated that it had nothing to do with the takedown directly. Instead, YouTube is claiming that the video was taken down after someone made a copyright claim on the video, which resulted in the video being automatically pulled. However, YouTube is now "investigating whether this action is valid in accordance with our copyright policy." Of course, the likely answers is that it is not. It's doubtful that the guys who made and uploaded the video made a copyright claim on their own video, so it seems likely that someone made a bogus copyright claim and got the video taken down (it's also potentially possible that something in the video violated someone else's copyright, but no one seems to have suggested that). That could mean that the video will go back up shortly, and Turkey might just go back to banning YouTube again.

Filed Under: ataturk, bans, copyright, turkey
Companies: google, youtube

People In Turkey Quite Angry Over Google Blockade; While Bureaucrats Defend Policy

from the turkish-delight dept

We've written a few times about Turkey's odd thinking on blocking access to large parts of Google, in part over some YouTube videos and partly over a tax dispute. We also noted that Turkey's own President indicated he was upset about the block and would look to get it lifted. The BBC has a much more detailed article on the situation, where it explains that the laws for blocking such websites are so convoluted and unclear, that it's often not even clear who decided to ban what and for what reason. For example, no one's even sure why Google was really banned this time around, as there are conflicted explanations. But the key point is summarized in these paragraphs:

There are two different Turkeys talking here.

There is Istanbul, buzzing with entrepreneurial activity and cultural life, where people aspire to European levels of wealth and freedom.

And there is the capital Ankara, a city of bureaucrats, the centre of military and political power. Ankara is where nearly all the internet restrictions emanate.

The article highlights journalists and businesses who are greatly harmed by the blocks, including one company who had signed up to use Google's infrastructure for their email... and now can't access their own email accounts. The reporter then goes to talk to the head of the "Ataturk Thought Association" (how's that for an Orwellian name?), which is apparently responsible for many of the blocks, as it seeks to block access to any video that it feels insults Turkey's founding father, Ataturk. She doesn't seem to care if anyone or any business is inconvenienced. To her, blocking access to such videos is much more important:

"For us Ataturk is a symbol of democracy and women's emancipation", she says. "This is about respect for him. I am not bothered by the impact of the court decision."

Of course, as part of democracy and women's emancipation, doesn't it help to have widespread access to tools of communication... like YouTube?

Filed Under: bureaucracy, censorship, turkey

Turkish President Uses Twitter To Complain About His Own Gov't's Censorship Of Google

from the follow-that? dept

We've noted that Turkey has repeatedly banned YouTube, and more recently a bunch of other Google properties. The YouTube ban came from the courts. It's still not clear what resulted in the wider Google blocks. A bunch of reporters have protested the censorship, noting how bad it makes Turkey look. And, apparently, they have support from Turkey's President. Various news publications are reporting that Turkish President Abdullah Gul used Twitter to say that he doesn't agree with the bans and has asked officials to look for ways to get rid of them.

None of the press reports I can find link to the Twitter account, but I'm assuming (risky?) that these news publications (including The Guardian (above), the Associated Press and Reuters) actually confirmed that the account is real. According to Reuters, in a series of Tweets, Gul said:

"I know there are lots of complaints about bans on YouTube and Google."

"I am definitely against them being closed down. I have ordered responsible institutions for a solution. I asked for a change in regulations on merit."

What's next? Whoever blocked Google will now block Twitter as well?

Filed Under: abdullah gul, censorship, turkey
Companies: google, twitter, youtube

Turkey Keeps Banning More And More Of Google

from the why-not-just-turn-off-the-internet dept

Turkey seems to have a problem with Google and its services. The country has issued multiple bans of YouTube, which has resulted in plenty of criticism from the tech press in the country. Also banned was Google's Blogger service, because a Turkish TV service was upset that some Blogger users posted links to unauthorized streams of Turkish football matches. Now, Slashdot points us to the news that Turkey has apparently banned a whole bunch of Google IP addresses with no explanation. Among the services banned: translate.google.com, books.google.com, tools.google.com, docs.google.com, AppEngine, Feedburner and Google Analytics. Given how many other sites rely on things like Google Analytics and Feedburner, you have to wonder if folks in Turkey are having a lot of trouble reaching many sites these days.

Filed Under: turkey
Companies: google

Turkish Reporters Finally Point Out That The Gov't Should Drop Its Silly YouTube Ban

from the about-time dept

Turkish courts have been really quick to ban various websites for flimsy reasons. A few years ago it went back and forth a few times before banning YouTube entirely, just because of a juvenile video on the site. However, it's now been nearly two years since the last YouTube ban was put in place, and it hasn't been lifted. Apparently, a bunch of Turkish reporters are now realizing how bad this looks for Turkey, and are asking the country to fix things and reinstate YouTube. Apparently, there have been numerous blog protests in the past, but now mainstream reporters are taking up the cause as well.

We as Turkish technology journalists have stressed the importance of a free Internet over and over again. Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review did a remarkable job by documenting non-censored computers for the use of the IMF and World Bank delegations during their summit this summer. We said it was not a clever move to try to hide something you are ashamed of, especially if the rest of the world knows about it. The fact that Iran is on the same level as Turkey in terms of free Internet is a shame on the politicians of a free, democratic society. Just as Iran, Turkey would like to create a national search engine and a national Internet, which is an oxymoron to many.

Also interesting, is the claim that the Prime Minister has admitted that he has "changed [his] DNS settings [to] access YouTube..." which certainly suggests that pretty much everyone recognizes this ban is completely pointless, and seems to only serve the purpose of making Turkey look bad.

Filed Under: turkey
Companies: youtube

Batman, The City, Sues Over Batman, The Movie

from the seriously dept

Another day, another ridiculous intellectual property fight. Remember Lebanon claiming ownership over hummus? This is worse. Apparently, there's a city in Turkey named Batman. Guess what they're now claiming? You got it. They believe that the Batman movies are violating the rights to the name, and are threatening to sue Chris Nolan, who directed the last two Batman movies. Apparently the town is facing some financial difficulties, and a reporter jokingly (I hope) asked the mayor why he didn't sue over the name, and the mayor took it seriously.

Of course, beyond the sheer ridiculousness of it all, it's not clear why they're suing Chris Nolan, rather than DC Comics or Warner Bros., but that's apparently the plan. You have to believe that any actual lawsuit will get laughed out of court pretty quickly, but it is rather telling that a mayor would even consider such a lawsuit. That's what happens when you get people believing that "ownership" of names makes sense.

Filed Under: batman, chris nolan, copyright, intellectual property, trademark, turkey

Perhaps Turkey Should Just Ban The Entire Internet

from the adding-another-one dept

It would appear that the Turkish government and courts are a bit trigger happy when it comes to flat-out banning websites for almost no reason at all. In the past, we've reported on Turkish bans on YouTube, Slide, Wordpress.com and Google Groups. Now, via Slashdot, we see that a Turkish court has banned all of Google's Blogger service including all of the blogs hosted at blogspot.com. Unlike the bans of the other sites, which happened after people who were offended by content found on each complained, it appears that the Blogger ban was due to a Turkish TV service, Digiturk, which was upset that some Blogger users were posting links to unauthorized streams of Turkish football matches.

Yes, you read that correctly. Because a few bloggers had linked to (not even hosted) some unauthorized streams of a sporting event, Digiturk was able to ban all of Blogger. At this point, you have to wonder why Turkey allows the internet at all.

Filed Under: bans, blogs, turkey
Companies: google

Turkey Bans Richard Dawkins' Website, Because It Offends A Creationist

from the why-not-just-ban-the-internet? dept

We already know that Turkish officials have a pretty quick trigger finger when it comes to banning certain websites. They've banned YouTube multiple times due to videos they found offensive, and then banned Slide, a multimedia hosting company as well. Still, it's a bit surprising to discover that now they've banned the website of Richard Dawkins after a Turkish creationist complained that the site had insulted him. Apparently, this guy, Adnan Oktar, has become quite successful at getting sites blocked in Turkey. In the past, he also got Wordpress.com and Google Groups blocked after he became upset at content found on both of those sites. And, even better, he claims he's not against free speech, he's just against insults. And, apparently, anyone who disagrees with him is insulting.

Filed Under: adnan oktar, creationism, darwinism, richard dawkins, turkey

Turkish Officials Never Learn: Ban Slide Along With YouTube

from the the-definition-of-insanity dept

It would appear that Turkish officials don't seem to understand quite how the internet works these days -- despite having received quite a few lessons already. After all, this is the country that has banned YouTube for a sophomoric video making fun of the country's founder. It's the type of silly video no one would pay attention to... until Turkey decided to block access to all of YouTube because of it. Then, of course, this silly little video that no one cared about was seen everywhere. Eventually Turkey lifted the ban, but having learned nothing put the ban back in place not just once, but two more times. Each time, it provided much more attention to the silly pointless videos. Apparently, that message has not gotten through to Turkish authorities who have now banned the multimedia hosting site Slide as well. Again, they didn't bother to inform Slide or even ask the company to take down the offending content. They just banned the entire site over some content that very few people had probably seen.

Filed Under: bans, content, streisand effect, turkey
Companies: slide, youtube