Twitter blocks two accounts for violating privacy

ISTANBUL — Five days after a team of senior officials from Twitter visited Turkey to hold talks with Turkish authorities, the social media company blocked two accounts for violating personal rights and privacy. The Başçalan and Haramzadeler333 Twitter accounts were suspended over the weekend for taking part in a defamation campaign against the government and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with the intention of discrediting the ruling AK Party prior to and during the last local elections held on March 30. During the last week's visit, the company's head of global public policy, Colin Crowell, and his delegation met representatives from Turkey's information technologies authority to discuss problems between the two parties and the possibility of the company opening an office in Turkey

Meeting with Turkish authorities for the first time, the arrival of Twitter's senior officials was interpreted as groundbreaking after Turkish authorities officially expressed their concerns about the protection of personal privacy, violation of personal rights and threats to national security. Using their strengthened position Turkish authorities forced Twitter to directly address these issues.

Turkey's Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication Lütfi Elvan said the mood following the meeting was good and that Twitter would take concrete steps regarding the decisions of Turkish courts on some Twitter accounts.

A Turkish court ordered Twitter to be blocked for the violation of personal rights and privacy on March 21. The Twitter ban was lifted on April 3 by the Constitutional Court after Kerem Altıparmak, an assistant professor at the Political Science Department in Ankara University and Yaman Akdeniz from the Faculty of Law at Bilgi University filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court on March 24, arguing the ban on Twitter violated the fifth clause of the 49th Article of Law No. 6216 of the Constitution and the European Declaration of Human Rights.

Turkey's telecommunications authority sent more than 600 content removal requests to Twitter from January 1 to March 21, the date when access to the site was blocked in Turkey. According to the information, gained from the Prime Ministry's public diplomacy office, Turkey's Presidency of Telecommunications sent 643 content removal requests to Twitter's management regarding court orders and complaints from Turkish citizens.

Ninety-one percent of the requests were sent on the grounds of obscenity.

The Internet body received 27 court rulings and three prosecution motions ordering the removal of 82 Twitter URLs - web addresses - within the same time span. Erdoğan and Turkish government previously accused Twitter of not fulfilling its responsibility to prevent violations of personal privacy and rights.

Turkey's telecommunications authority sent more than 600 content removal requests to Twitter from January 1 to March 21, the date when access to the site was blocked in Turkey. According to the information, gained from the Prime Ministry's public diplomacy office, Turkey's Presidency of Telecommunications sent 643 content removal requests to Twitter's management regarding court orders and complaints from Turkish citizens. Ninety-one percent of the requests were sent on the grounds of obscenity. Erdoğan and Turkish government previously accused Twitter of not fulfilling its responsibility to prevent violations of personal privacy and rights.