AKP: Authorizing courts to remove online content will 'make free expression more secure'

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The parliament is discussing the social media bill prepared by the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

MP Cahit Özkan, the AKP group's deputy chair, responded to the criticism, saying that the bill is in accordance with international regulations.

"We did an optimum level of work by combining the freedom of information on the one hand and privacy on the other hand. We have approached the issue within the scope of rights and freedoms," he remarked.

According to the law proposal, social media companies will be obliged to have a legal representative in Turkey. If they refuse to do so, they will be subjected to monetary penalties and bandwidth throttling.

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Social media platforms that have more than a million daily hits will have to store their users' information in Turkey.

Also, penal courts of peace, which are authorized to block access to any URL address, will also have the authority to remove content.

"After enforcing this regulation, regulations regarding the individual rights and freedoms and privacy of our citizens will be secured," Özkan said.

"It is clear that freedom of expression and information will be more secure with the possibility of removing content rather than blocking access," he asserted.

The bill is expected to be voted at the general assembly meeting today. (HA/VK)