Turkey : no to the Internet Censorship

Turkish government is trying to censor the internet. A new regulation would force every single Internet user in Turkey to submit to extensive 
content filtering when they go online.

The BTK [High Council for Information and Communication Technologies] is pushing regulations that would force each of us to choose between one of four Internet filters that block us from accessing hundreds of words and websites. No computer in the country will have access to the Internet without signing up for this censorship. And, to top it off — the government will not release the list of websites blocked by each filter.

The new system is a violation of our right to freedom of expression and 
access to information, and it has absolutely no legal basis under 
Turkish law.

The BTK is under enormous pressure already, facing backlash 
from across the country. We can unite the opposition — creating the 
largest petition in Turkey’s history against Internet censorship and for 
freedom of information.

 Sign the petition now, and forward it to everyone:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/no_internet_censorship/97.php?cl_tta_sign=a2ef7efb24a5be079fc482e4b054f593

BTK’s Internet censorship violates the European Convention on Human 
Rights and the Turkish constitution. And yet they’re still trying to 
force it through.

The BTK claims they are providing families with an important service, 
and that if we choose the “standard” filter, our Internet access won’t 
change. But this is clearly a lie to generate support for censorship. 
The filters are already readily available for download by anyone who 
wishes to install them — this regulation will make filters mandatory. 
The BTK would have total control over which internet sites are blocked 
under the filters and could add or remove sites without our knowledge — 
giving them the power to ban thousands of new websites without any good reason.

We can stop the BTK from taking away our right to freely access 
information on the internet.

 Click below to sign the petition and Avaaz 
will deliver it to the BTK and the government:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/no_internet_censorship/97.php?cl_tta_sign=a2ef7efb24a5be079fc482e4b054f593

The wave of democracy movements that is building across the planet has 
been spawned online — and proven that our ability to stay informed, 
express ourselves freely, and communicate with each other is critical to 
our ability to tackle all the other pressing issues facing our country 
and our world. If we fight this regulation and win, it will be a victory 
for every other issue we care about. Let’s seize this moment!

 With hope and determination,
Ozlem, Emma, Mia, Rewan and the whole Avaaz team

SOURCES:
 Internet Filter Opposes Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Bianet.org)
http://www.bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/129364-internet-filter-opposes-fundamental-rights-and-freedoms

 Government agency wants to install filtering software on every computer 
(Reporters Without Borders)
http://en.rsf.org/turkey-government-agency-wants-to-install-06-05-2011,40238.html

 Turkey’s Internet law needs to be reformed or abolished (OSCE)
http://www.osce.org/fom/51828

 Internet Filters Set Off Protests Around Turkey (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/europe/16turkey.html

 Marchers protest new Turkish Web filtering rules (CNN)
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/15/turkey.internet.protest/