Reminding that social media provider companies such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Dailymotion, and Vkontakte have opened representative offices, Sayan shared the information: "Twitter announced that it will completely phase out its Periscope live streaming systems. From this perspective, those who need to open representative offices are Twitter and Pinterest."
Explaining that an advertising ban has begun to be imposed on companies that do not open representative offices under the law, and that in the next stage, bandwidth throttling will be applied to those who do not fulfill their obligations, Sayan also noted that the companies in question will submit their first reports in June. Sayan also stated that the law paves the way for the implementation in Turkey of the "right to be forgotten" applied in Europe.
Deputy Minister Sayan also answered the questions directed at him. Clarifying the "right to be forgotten" issue, Sayan reminded that Google grants this right to EU citizens but does not apply it in Turkey, and emphasized that photos or images related to a traffic accident remaining on the internet for years can cause psychological distress for the people involved in the accident and their families, and that this practice is starting to prevent such incidents.
Drawing attention to the fact that everyone from every political party can exercise the right to be forgotten, Sayan stated that the reporting system for betting and gambling sites is working very well, so they do not need a reward.
Pointing out that all situations considered crimes in real life are also accepted as such in the internet environment, Sayan indicated that a court decision is required to intervene in copyright infringement crimes committed online.
Deputy Minister Sayan: It is Impossible to Close Newspapers That Comply with the Law
Answering the parliamentarians' questions, Deputy Minister Sayan said, "As long as newspapers like Sözcü and Birgün comply with the laws, no different intervention is possible."
Sayan also stated that BTK only blocks relevant illegal content and does not impose access restrictions on entire sites.
Deputy Minister Sayan: They Had to Accelerate Beyond Their Targets
Stating that the pandemic has prompted some sectors to take rapid steps, Deputy Minister Sayan said, "Telecommunications companies, e-commerce, and cargo companies had to compress the work they would do in the next 3, 5, or 10 years without the pandemic. From education to health, including telemedicine, they had to do it in a very short time, even ahead of the targets we normally set."
Sayan also conveyed that 30% of universal projects are within the scope of ULAK and that 99.5% of the population has access to the internet.
Explaining that studies are being conducted to provide internet services via mini satellites, Sayan added that fiber network prevalence in the US is worse than in Turkey.
Information Technologies and Communication Authority President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu also attended the meeting.