Turkey blocks Deutsche Welle websites

The Ankara 9th Penal Judgeship of Peace has imposed a ban on the access to Deutsche Welle's (DW) websites, including dwturkce.com and inspiredminds.de. The main URL of the outlet had already been blocked.

The decision, aimed at the German public broadcaster, was sent to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) for implementation.

This move comes in the wake of the recent demand from the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) for DW to acquire a broadcasting license for its online presence and alternative domain names.

Earlier, RTÜK had enforced a block on DW Türkçe on June 30, 2022, as the broadcaster declined to apply for a license to continue its online broadcasts directed at Turkey. Despite the restriction, DW Türkçe has publishing using different domain names.

The Ministry of Industry and Technology chose not to renew DW Türkçe's operational license, prompting the broadcaster to close its Turkey office and transition its employees into a copyrighted position. The current block on DW's websites adds another layer to the ongoing dispute between Turkish authorities and the international broadcaster. (HA/VK)