Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications Made on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed through These Publications regulates the procedures for blocking and removing Internet content.
Types of Access Denial
1. URL Based Blocking (Art.8/A)
Blocking access to a specific content address (e.g. a news link, social media post). The entire site is not blocked, only controversial content is covered.
2. Blocking the Entire Site (Art.8)
All sites containing catalog crimes such as illegal betting, child abuse, and supporting terrorism are blocked.
3. Removal of Content and/or Blocking of Access (Art.9)
A decision is made by the criminal judgeship of peace upon the application of individuals alleging violation of personal rights or privacy of private life.
Authorities That Can Make Blocking Decisions
- BTK President:In cases of emergency (for Article 8 catalog crimes)
- Criminal Judgeship of Peace:In individual applications (Art.9, Art.9/A)
- Judge/prosecutor: Within the scope of investigation
Individual Access Blocking Request (Art.9)
For content that constitutes an attack on personal rights, you can directly apply to the criminal judgeship of peace. The decision is made within 24 hours.
What to Request
- URL of content
- Screenshot of content
- Petition explaining the violation of personal rights
- Identity documents
Confidentiality of Private Life (Art.9/A)
For content regarding privacy, BTK may directly remove the content within 4 hours. Then, the approval of the criminal judgeship of peace is received within 24 hours.
Objection to the Decision of the Criminal Court of Peace
In accordance with CMK Article 268, you can appeal to the same criminal judgeship of peace or a different judgeship within 7 days from the notification or learning of the decision. The objection is examined by the next/previous judgeship in number of the judgeship that made the decision.
Constitutional Court Jurisprudence
The Constitutional Court, in many individual applications, especially the Wikipedia decision, has emphasized that access blocking measures should not violate the essence of freedom of expression and information, should be in compliance with the principle of proportionality, and URL-based blocking should be preferred instead of the entire site.
Effect of Access Denial
- Content becomes inaccessible from Türkiye
- Can be bypassed with VPN, but this may also cause legal liability
- Blocked content is not completely deleted from the internet
Removal Request
For complete removal of content from social media and news sites, an application must be made directly to the content provider; if not accepted, an application must be made to the criminal judgeship of peace.
Official Judgeship
- Criminal Judgeship of Peace (There are special judgeships in big cities such as Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir)
- The request can be made directly, representation by a lawyer is not mandatory but recommended
Access blocking processes require technical knowledge and rapid action; It is recommended that you get support from lawyer experienced in internet law