Breaking Headline

Turkish court rules against Twitter ban

Published March 27th, 2014 - 05:26 GMT
Turkey blocked YouTube on Thursday after an audio recording was posted detailing possible military operations in Syria. It is currently unclear how the Turkish court's ruling against the government on Twitter could affect the ban put in place on YouTube. (File)
Turkey blocked YouTube on Thursday after an audio recording was posted detailing possible military operations in Syria. It is currently unclear how the Turkish court's ruling against the government on Twitter could affect the ban put in place on YouTube. (File)

A Turkish court ruled Wednesday that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government could not legally block Twitter access in Turkey.

On March 20, Erdogan announced his decision to seek a court order to "eradicate" Twitter during a campaign rally in Bursa, saying "Twitter and so on, we will root them out. The international community can say this or that -- I don't care. They will see the power of the Turkish Republic."

The Turkish government has been working to remove and prevent embarrassing leaks on social media linked to a corruption investigation involving four of Erdogan's former cabinet ministers.

Wednesday's court ruling was in response to a suit filed by Turkey's bar association and its journalists' union. The complainants argued that a government block on Twitter violated freedom of information and communication.

Subscribe

Sign up to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content