‘YouTube precedent threatens free expression,’ warn rights organizations

* Photo: Pexels

In a statement released on its blog on December 16, 2020, YouTube has announced that it will "set up a legal entity in Turkey to serve as a local representative, providing a local point of contact for the government," in compliance with the country's recently amended social media law.

CLICK - YouTube to open a representative in Turkey

Shortly after this decision was shared with the public, ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Turkey's Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) have released a statement about the issue, calling on the company to "reverse its decision to appoint a local representative in Turkey."

The organizations have raised concerns that that this move will make YouTube "much more susceptible to content removal and take-down requests by the Turkish authorities" and "inevitably lead to an increase in arbitrary censorship, compromise people's privacy and right of access to information, and could implicate YouTube in human rights violations."

"The decision also sets a dangerous precedent that makes it harder for other tech companies to refuse to appoint a local representative in Turkey, and more difficult for YouTube and other companies to refuse to appoint local representatives in countries around the world with weak rule of law frameworks and equally problematic legislation that may require it.

"Rather than cooperate with this form of state interference with freedom of expression, YouTube should be a partner in efforts to challenge the law and champion the right to free speech," the organizations have noted.

'In the absence of judicial independence...'

HRW Europe and Central Asia Director Hugh Willimson has said, "The main social media companies quite rightly have so far chosen not to comply with this draconian law, which facilitates censorship."

"YouTube's decision to comply with the requirement to set up a local representative in the belief that it will be possible to ride out the storm and hold out against a flood of take-down requests is deeply misguided and blinkered to the deplorable climate for free speech in Turkey," he has added.

"In the absence of due process and an independent judiciary, including functioning democratic institutions such as the Constitutional Court, it will be impossible for YouTube or any social media platform to protect the rights of users in Turkey as they will become the long arm of the Turkish state," Yaman Akdeniz, one of the founders of the İFÖD, has also indicated.

Sarah Clarke, the Head of Europe and Central Asia at ARTICLE 19, has noted, "The tech companies should not bow to this pressure or enter into behind-closed-doors agreements with the authorities."

"As long as the environment for freedom of expression and the rule of law is this hostile in Turkey, other social media platforms should continue not to comply with the amendments to the Internet law."

Organizations have made a call to YouTube

Against this backdrop, ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) have called on YouTube to:

• In consultation with civil society, reconsider its decision to appoint a local representative, given the enormous pressure it is likely to face from the Turkish authorities to remove content;
• Urgently clarify how the company intends to respect the rights to freedom of expression and privacy in Turkey; and
• Publish the company's Human Rights Impact Assessment that led to the decision to appoint a representative office in Turkey which can be served with content take-down notifications.
• ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch, and İFÖD continue to urge the Turkish government to repeal the new law, which will negatively affect millions of users of social media platforms in Turkey. They urge other tech companies, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok, to continue to hold the line against compliance to protect the freedom of expression of their users in Turkey.

(SD)