The parliament assembled with the chairperson Ayşe Nur Bahçekapılı yesterday, passed the last portion of 12 articles of an omnibus bill related to “No 6111 Reconstitution of Certain Debts, Social Security and Other Regulations”.
According to this, an amendment has been made to Article 129 of the bill with the expression “Internet traffic information will be provided by Telecommunication Authorities (TIB) and passed along to related officials in the case of a court decision”.
This amendment included in the law regulating the crimes committed though internet publishing in Turkey.
Previously, such information could only be acquired through service providers after a court decision within an investigation.
Reason: Emergency
It was noted that the requesting of internet data was related to the impediment of situations when it is necessary to launch an investigation.
The reasoned decision was as follows: “In addition to that, it takes certain time for telecommunication authorities to demand for traffic information from a service provider and receive it in a comprehensible fashion. Such situation delay the prosecution and correction process. In emergency cases like terrorism, there is no way to respond to the threat in a timely manner.” (BM)
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso and its partners and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. The project's page: Safety Net for European Journalists. A Transnational Support Network for Media Freedom in Italy and South-east Europe.
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.