Özlem ZENGIN, Deputy Chairperson of the AK Party group, made a press statement about the “social media law proposal” submitted to Parliament. She shared details of the 9-point social media arrangement, answering questions. ZENGIN emphasized that there could be no freedom where there was no law, and said that social network providers would have to open representative offices in Turkey. Down below are details pertaining to the proposal.
We want to put an end to insult and harassment
If social media is a new area of life, people need to take responsibility for it lawfully. In summary, we want to put an end to insult and harassment.
We are trying to ensure we have an interlocutor in our relations with social network providers
You will see in the first article of the law. We are creating social network provider sub-title within law 5651. We are trying to have an interlocutor to social network providers.
If the daily access is more than 1 million the provider will need to have a representative
We’re bringing some changes to law 5651. We are identifying the social network provider. Who are we going to call the social network provider?
If daily access is above 1 million and it is a social network provider originating from abroad, it should have legal or real persons in Turkey. If it is going to be a real person, this representative has to be Turkish. There will be no regulation for those with under 1 million users and are headquartered in Turkey.
They will have to provide answers in 48 hours
We’ll expect a response from the rep in 48 hours. They’ll have to give a positive or negative answer. If the answer is negative, they will need to explain why.
A fine of TL 10 million could be issued
We want to provide an incentive for users to keep their data in Turkey. If they do not accept the condition of being in Turkey, I want to explain what sanctions they will face.
If this requirement is not met, a TL 10 million penalty will be imposed. Another 30 million will be fined if they still fail to do so in 30 days. Existing contracts will continue, new advertising contracts will not be allowed. And that’s how money transfers will be disallowed.
Decision to shrink band by ninety percent
Courts will be able to decide to narrow the band by 90 percent. If the decision is made to narrow the band, access providers will have to bring it in place in 4 hours.
A period of 48 hours will be question in case of a violation of personality rights. If there is no answer in 48 hours, the social network user will be fined TL 5 million.
If the provider does not remove the content within 24 hours, it will compensate for the damage that arises
If it does not remove the content within 24 hours in case of violation of rights, it will compensate for the damages arising from it. This damage could be asked of the social network provider.
Another important item is that you can apply for judgment and get results, but when you write your name all the information about your retrospective personality comes to you. It will be possible to demand “I do not want my name to come together with these sites”. Electronic notification will also be possible for users abroad.
The right to be forgotten means that if a decision is made, after 7 years it will be deleted from the sources. The right to be forgotten is in universal law.
There cannot be freedom without law
We have carried out extensive work. Our first priority here is that social networks continue to live on a legal basis. Without the law, freedom cannot continue. Such an arrangement is needed to provide a social, administrative and financial interlocutor with social network providers. Turkey is making a legal arrangement with the right to do so.
It is expected to become law next week
The right to be forgotten is for plain citizens. The situation is getting a little difficult for politicians. We expect the proposal to become law next week. At the moment it has 9 articles and there may be an addition. By the time we leave here, my friends will have made the offer.
Social media providers will be responsible in a sense
There will surely be contacts. The responsibility for the fake accounts will be on the network provider. If it’s from abroad, there will be an address. That’s what we want the rep for. The social network provider will be like the one who committed this crime. Social network providers will be responsible in a sense. It will respond in 48 hours and remove in 24 hours. If it doesn’t do these things it will be liable for compensation.
Response to claims that freedom of expression will be curtailed
Law is like air. You won’t notice when everything’s fine. But if things are bad, you can’t get air. If everything is going well, people can write whatever they want without damaging personal rights, harassing or supporting terrorism. When things touch boundaries, they can be interfered with. It’s a difficult scale between freedoms and rights. We think we’ve established that well.
