AKP plans to introduce prison sentences for 'disinformation' on social media, says MP

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A ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy has said that Turkey should impose prison sentences to combat "disinformation" on social media.

The party is working on a new draft law and reviewing other countries' laws about the issue, Ali Özkaya told daily Hürriyet. Turkey, like Germany, should impose prison sentences of from one to five years for disinformation on social media, he said.

Banning people involved in disinformation from using social media for a certain period of time and imposing compensation penalties on them are also among the sanctions Özkaya suggested.

President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 21 hinted at a new law to combat the "terror of lies" on social media.

Turkey previously obligated major social media platforms to have a legal representative and store their users' data in Turkey.

"There is no censorship. We previously worked on a social media law as well. The same debates took place at that time but it's seen that the intention was not censorship," said Özkaya.

"What is a crime in normal life is also a crime on social media but crimes cannot be effectively combatted because of fake accounts," he added.

Just as Germany's law, the AKP will review the crimes under four categories, namely "terrorism," "sexual crimes and pornography," "insulting the freedom of religion and conscience" and "fake news, disinformation and misinformation," said the deputy. (PT/VK)