Turkey fines social media companies for failing to comply with new law

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Global social media companies have been fined for failing to comply with the new social media law, which requires content providers with more than a million daily visitors to open an office in the country.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) imposed a fine of 10 million lira (~1.18 million US dollars) on each of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, Periscope and Tiktok, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Fatih Sayan, announced on Twitter.

"I fully believe that social network providers will make their representative notifications to our country as the legal process progresses. Our aim is not to be in conflict with these providers, which are offering services to billions of people around the world," Sayan said.

However, he added, they aimed to make social media companies comply with Turkey's rules just as they comply with other countries' rules."

While companies that open an office within 30 days will pay only one-fourth of the fines, they may face further sanctions if they don't, according to Sayan.

According to the new social media law that came into force on October 1, "social network providers" that have more than one million daily users are required to assign a representative and store their users' data in Turkey.

What does the law say?

The law foresees a gradual sanctions process for companies that refuse to set up a representative agency in Turkey:

• 10 million lira of fine and a 30-day waiting period.
• 30 million lira of fine.
• Advertisements will be banned for three months.
• Fifty-percent bandwidth throttling upon an order by a penal judgeship of peace. Access providers will have to apply bandwidth throttling within four hours after the court verdict is given.
• Ninety-percent bandwidth throttling upon an order by a penal judgeship of peace

(HA/VK)