Criminal complaint filed against man sharing child abuse images on Ekşi Sözlük

Hediye Gökçe Baykal,the lawyer of First Women and Children Association, announced that they have applied to the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office based on a complaint they received regarding a user on the internet site Ekşi Sözlük, who shared content showing act of child abuse.

A lengthy statement was also released from Ekşi Sözlük, indicating that the mentioned content has been removed from the platform.

Ekşi Sözlük ( 'sour dictionary') is a collaborative hypertext dictionary in Turkish based on the concept of Web sites built up on user contribution. However, Ekşi Sözlük is not a dictionary in the strict sense; users are not required to write correct information. It is currently one of the largest online communities in Turkey with over 400,000 registered users. The number of authors is about 110,000. As an online public sphere, Ekşi Sözlük is not only utilized by thousands for information sharing on various topics ranging from scientific subjects to everyday life issues, but also used as a virtual socio-political community to communicate disputed political contents and to share personal views. (Source: Wikipedia)

The statement from Ekşi Sözlük expressed the following:

"We have identified a user who has been sharing images classified as child pornography by creating various accounts on Ekşi Sözlük, and we will never allow their presence on our platform. Therefore, we have taken a series of measures, including restricting visual sharing for newcomers."

"However, the individual sharing the incriminating images continued to upload photos to image and video hosting platforms unrelated to Ekşi Sözlük, creating consecutive accounts to enter content and send messages to our users. Due to the sensitivity of the matter and the prompt response from our teams, accounts related to the offense were swiftly closed as users encountering the illicit images reached out to us."

Ekşi Sözlük also announced in their statement that they intervened in the accounts of other users who shared the images and links to these images to create public awareness, "even though it was done with good intentions," they said. They denied the allegations that they have closed such accounts but announced that they temporarily changed their status to "newcomer."

Authors and Newcomers in Ekşi Sözlük: Enrollment periods to the dictionary and the criteria of acceptance are changeable. Ekşi Sözlük does not accept new authors continuously; there are specific times in which new authors are accepted. There is a waiting period for newcomers who want to become authors in which they must post at least 10 entries. All entries are inspected according to the dictionary rules and their quality, and if they pass inspection, the newcomer becomes an author. However, this process might take from months to years. (Source: Wikipedia)

"We appreciate all our users for their sensitivity in resorting to legal channels. We expect this individual to be identified and to receive the necessary punishment as a result of our criminal complaints," the statement by Ekşi Sözlük stated.

Complaint by First Women and Children Association

Hediye Gökçe Baykal,the lawyer of First Women and Children Association, speaking to bianet, mentioned Ekşi Sözlük's statement on the matter and stated, "We have applied for the identification and prosecution of the relevant user on the grounds that they committed crimes such as 'sexual exploitation of a child' and 'violation of the privacy of private life.'"

Baykal also said that they have referred to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in their petition. (AEK/PE)

Criminal complaint filed against man sharing child abuse images on Ekşi Sözlük

BIA News Desk

Complaint by First Women and Children Association