As mentioned in yesterday's post, it looked like access to YouTube in Turkey was under threat only a few days after a 30-month ban on the site was lifted.
Well, now it's official: Turkish web surfers trying to access the video sharing site are now encountering a screen with a message from Turkey's Telecommunications Directorate, which regulates internet traffic in the country, that access to YouTube has been blocked by court order.
For the Turkish government, the return of the YouTube ban could be something of a headache since it's been frequently held up by critics of Turkey's record on freedom of expression as evidence that the country is still struggling on the democratization front.
"I think the way forward is to take a serious look into
making Turkey’s internet laws compatible with European standards and get rid of
these blocks completely," says Yaman Akdeniz, a professor of law at Istanbul's Bilgi University and an expert on Turkish internet law.
[UPDATE -- The on again, off again YouTube ban is off -- for now.]
[UPDATE II -- As of Nov. 11, the YouTube ban is back on]
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