AKP, MHP complete bill on social media, online news outlets, says MP

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Works for the Law on Combating Disinformation and amendments to several laws, including the Press Law, have been completed, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Vice Chair Feti Yıldız announced on Saturday (May 21).

With the bill, authorities will be able to interfere with content found to be containing disinformation, Yıldız said on Twitter. Chat rooms on social media will also be controlled.

Also, the Press Law will be amended to cover online news outlets, which will have the same criminal and legal responsibility as the periodical publications.

"It is a known fact that network providers do not develop needed preventive and protective mechanisms ... despite making great profit. It is the responsibility of the state to protect fundamental rights and freedoms," he wrote.

Since the last year, the government has been working to increase its grip on social media against what it calls the "terror of lies."

In mid-2020, it enacted a new law to obligate social media platforms to assign a representative and store their users' data in Turkey. (TY/VK)