Turkey
Stretched between Asia and Europe,
Turkey amalgamates the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical diversity of
two continents. The government has
implemented legal and institutional
reforms driven by the country’s ambitions to become a European Union
member state, while at the same time
demonstrating its high sensitivity to
defamation and other ‘‘inappropriate’’ online content, which has resulted in the closure of a number of local and
international Web sites.
Background
Turkey was established as a secular state in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatu ¨rk. The
‘‘Father of the Nation’’ transformed the government from Islamic rule to a secular
modern state, with laws based upon the Swiss civil code. The principle of secularity is
enshrined in the Constitution 1 to ensure that religious matters do not interfere with
state affairs. The Turkish military powers consider themselves to be the guardians of
secular democracy and in the past have actively pursued this role, resulting in the
forced removal of elected governments on a number of occasions. The Turkish military
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
Filtering
No Evidence
of Filtering
Suspected
Filtering
Selective
Filtering
Substantial
Filtering
Pervasive
Filtering
Political
Social
Conflict and security
Internet tools
Other Factors
Low
Medium
High
Not
Applicable
Transparency
Consistency
Stretched between Asia and Europe,
Turkey amalgamates the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical diversity of
two continents. The government has
implemented legal and institutional
reforms driven by the country’s ambitions to become a European Union
member state, while at the same time
demonstrating its high sensitivity to
defamation and other ‘‘inappropriate’’ online content, which has resulted in the closure of a number of local and
international Web sites.
Background
Turkey was established as a secular state in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatu ¨rk. The
‘‘Father of the Nation’’ transformed the government from Islamic rule to a secular
modern state, with laws based upon the Swiss civil code. The principle of secularity is
enshrined in the Constitution 1 to ensure that religious matters do not interfere with
state affairs. The Turkish military powers consider themselves to be the guardians of
secular democracy and in the past have actively pursued this role, resulting in the
forced removal of elected governments on a number of occasions. The Turkish military
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
Filtering
No Evidence
of Filtering
Suspected
Filtering
Selective
Filtering
Substantial
Filtering
Pervasive
Filtering
Political
Social
Conflict and security
Internet tools
Other Factors
Low
Medium
High
Not
Applicable
Transparency
Consistency