Playboy Website Censored Before Religious Holidays

With the religious holidays after the fasting month of Ramadan on the doorstep, the Telecommunication Communication Presidency (TİB) used its executive authority to ban access to the www.playboy.com website. Access to the site was suspended without a related court decision.

The website of the Playboy magazine was banned according to Law No. 5651 on the "Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by means of Such Publication".

TİB considers investigation as sufficient

TİB based their decision taken on 6 August on an "a legal evaluation and a technical investigation carried out in the scope of index crimes according to law no. 5651".

The index crimes listed in Article 8 of the law no. 5651are given as the reason for the access ban. They include encouragement and incitement of suicide (article 84 of the Turkish Criminal Code TCK), sexual exploitation and abuse of children (TCK 103/1), facilitation of the use of drugs (TCK 190), provision of dangerous substances for health (TCK 194), obscenity (TCK 226), prostitution (TCK 227), gambling or supplying a place and opportunity for gambling (TCK 226) and the Law on Crimes against Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic, enforced in 1951.

The website currently features the following announcement: "ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES have been applied to this internet site (playboy.com) by the decision of the Telecommunications Communication Presidency dated 06.08.2010, no. 421.02.00.2010-293002  as a result of technical inspection and legal evaluation of index crimes regarding law no. 5651".

YouTube banned since 2008

Access to the global video sharing site YouTube.com has been banned since 5 May 2008 under allegations of "hosting contents against Atatürk" according to Law No. 5651. (EÖ/VK)