Turkey to pressure online giants over data storage

The government is set to boost information security and prevent information flow abroad by setting up data storage centers. Authorities also plan to put pressure on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media and video sharing websites to keep their social media data in Turkey.

Galip Zerey, a senior official at the Transportation, Maritime and Telecommunications Ministry, says they are about to finish a project on building local data centers and they would keep Turkey's online data in Turkey rather than abroad.

The move aims to boost cybersecurity as the country has faced numerous cyber-attacks in the past few years. Zerey, who was addressing a meeting of telecom executives, said the government would present incentives for local data centers, from allocation of land to financial support. He said a critical issue regarding data centers was the use of the locally made software in operating the centers.