Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan criticized social media companies for their lack of transparency at the Big Data and Applications Conference and issued warnings.
The Big Data and Applications Conference was held under the auspices of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK). The program was attended by Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, BTK President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the Information Security Association Ahmet Hamdi Atalay, and sector representatives.
The agenda of the program attended by Deputy Minister Sayan focused on the effective fight against content on the internet, particularly on social media, that threatens our national security. However, emphasizing that global social media platforms sometimes do not comply with court decisions and continue to host illegal content despite warnings, Sayan stated, “One of the most important points in this regard is advertisements. It is possible to access statistics and information about the pages people visit, but there is no record for direct advertisements or those embedded in news feeds. There is no trace of anything; everything is completely in the dark. What happens on social media stays hidden there because only the user sees the news feed and then it disappears, meaning it is impossible to investigate something. What it showed you, how many times it showed the same thing, all of it is in the dark. We have no idea who saw which advertisement. We have no information about the impact it left, the data used to target these people, who placed these advertisements, the money spent, or where they are from.”
Criticizing the companies for refusing to cooperate on transparency despite knowing these answers, Sayan asked social media companies: “Were the letters written by BTK for Turkish people's data to remain in Turkey, and the requests regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal, always brushed aside for some reason? Were entrepreneurs', companies', or media organizations' accounts closed or access blocked on grounds of rule violations? What measures were taken against fake news? How much compliance was there with court decisions from Turkey?”
Emphasizing that the companies have been warned many times on this issue, Sayan said, “We have enacted laws to prevent such and similar incidents. But every time, they tried to find a way around them. These laws are no longer working.”
Sayan drew attention to their efforts by saying, “I ask you: How much tax do companies with millions of users and earning millions of dollars in Turkey pay? With whom do they share Turkish people's data? How many employees do they have in Turkey? Do they have representatives in Turkey? If not, why are they reluctant to open a representative office here? Most of our lives are now lived on the internet, so to speak. You can spend unlimited money on advertisements on Facebook, Google, or YouTube to enter these lives, and no one would know because we are facing a complete black box. We are trying to do our job and protect our people in an environment of uncertainty and unknowns.”
Stating that manipulative campaigns are allowed and no respect is shown to people's private lives, Sayan said, “The 'right to be forgotten' granted to some countries is not given to our country. I want to warn social media companies once again from here. They need to clearly and transparently disclose their policies of processing personal data and showing content according to user tendencies, and inform countries about this. Claims that users are being manipulated by running different algorithms in the background with non-transparent policies are causing concerns worldwide. Therefore, social media companies have an obligation to provide more open information on their data processing policies. We cannot stand by and watch technology become a hub for crime. This is not free democracy; it is spreading lies in the dark. We will not allow this, and we will do what is necessary,” he called on social media companies.
President Karagözoğlu: Big Data Provides Superiority
Information Technologies and Communication Authority President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu also pointed out that big data is now encountered in every field.
Stating that those who hold big data will have significant superiority, Karagözoğlu said, “With the advancement of technology and the development of the internet, the power of information has come to the forefront. At the same time, reaching the most accurate information among this mass of data has become even more important. Although big data, which we frequently hear about nowadays, is thought to have become more visible with technological advancements, it is a phenomenon we have been immersed in for years but were not very aware of its development. We are also constantly contributing to the 'Big Data' concept.”
In his speech, Karagözoğlu stated, "While big data has many advantages that will make human life easier, we must not overlook the problems it creates regarding the storage of personal data. As BTK, we make various regulations on the security of personal data and impose certain obligations on our operators in this regard. We pay particular attention to these matters in our inspections."