The new IT bill was approved by a majority following six month of debate in parliament. All parties voted in favour with the exception of the Socialist Party (TDP).
The bill provides for a fine ranging from ten times to twenty times the minimum wage for posts that are considered a crime. Offenders could also face between three to five years imprisonment or both. A court decision will prevent access to publications made with the intention of harming the dignity of a person and causing him or her direct or indirect physical or mental harm. In exceptional cases, it will be possible to block access to publications by order of the Council for Information Technology and Communications.
Commenting on the bill in parliament, MP for the Democratic Party (DP), Serdar Denktaş, said that based on this law, it will not be possible to prevent the publication of fake news or defamation instantly and that is why an intermediate mechanism for this should be provided immediately, he said. Stating that as long as parliament works on a bill, it is inevitable that there will be some shortcomings. Denktaş added that these shortcomings can be met in practice after they are implemented. He added that the approval of the bill would completely remove the “keyboard heroism” phenomenon, as it would not be easy for anyone to write offensive comments and articles about another person, without consequences.
Diyalog
