ANKARA — Turkey on Tuesday hit Twitter, Pinterest and Periscope with advertising bans after they failed to follow Facebook and appoint a local representative to take down contentious posts under a new media law.
Freedom of speech defenders warn the law is part of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to control social media and stop any dissent against his government.
The social media legislation passed last year meant networks with over a million users had to appoint an envoy to handle court orders to remove offending content within 48 hours.
The bans on the three platforms came into force Tuesday while companies who advertise with them will also be fined, Turkey’s deputy infrastructure minister Omer Fatih Sayan tweeted.
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Ankara is “determined to do whatever is necessary to protect our people’s data, privacy and rights,” Sayan added.
“We will never allow digital fascism and rule-breaking to dominate in Turkey,” he said.
