Turkish MPs allow watchdog authority to regulate online content

22 Mar, 2018 14:55 / Updated 7 years ago

Turkey’s parliament has approved a bill granting its radio and television watchdog authority to regulate online content. The move fuels concerns about further restrictions on the media, Reuters reports. The MPs’ decision closes a loophole under which some Turkish broadcasters have sought refuge from censorship and strict regulations by moving to online-streaming platforms. Rights groups and Ankara’s Western allies have criticized restrictions on the media following the 2016 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Two Turkish streaming websites, PuhuTV and BluTV, have produced popular shows in the past year whose content and language would likely be censored if broadcast on television.