RTÜK Chair Says 'Censorship' Criticism 'Because of Habit of Opposing'

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RTÜK President Ebubekir Şahin has said that they are "meticulously" following debates and considering every view after the regulation that brings internet broadcasting under the council's authority was published in the Official Gazette.

He said that the regulations aim to guarantee the freedom of expression, the freedom of obtaining information, pluralism, a competitive environment, removing unfair competition and protecting the interest of the public.

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"We think that it is not healthy to reduce the regulation into a couple of elements such as obscenity and censorship. We saw from the first moment when the regulation is published that most of the criticism originates from either missing information or a habit of opposing that is not well-meant.

"Some malevolent circles who know the notion of 'censorship' very well misguide the public and criticize 'censorship'. It is not possible to think those who mention censorship knowing or without knowing, serving a purpose or unawares have good intentions.

"As everybody knows, censorship is to check and intervene in broadcasting before they are made public. In our constitution, censorship is clearly banned. Any person or institution cannot practice censorship.

"Our works to regulate and supervise on-demand broadcasting on internet platforms will not be against the natural flow of life. Persons' spaces of freedom are very valuable and meaningful to us.

"The companies who generate millions of liras of income through subscription systems are unfortunately not subject to any regulation or tax obligation in our country. They don't have any legal responsibility. Audit on their income is impossible.

"It is a must to make foreign broadcasters liable to provide records and data to protect the security and the interest of the public. It is imperative to take measures against detrimental content that children and youths could be subjected to during their periods of development.

"It is not possible for us to ignore scenes in cartoons that would affect children's spiritual and psychological development or terrorist propaganda in series." (DB/VK)

Source: AA