Does RTÜK Supervision Bring a New Ban to the Internet? An Assessment of Article 29/A Added to the RTÜK Law in the Context of Law No. 5651

29 March 2018Murat Volkan DülgerCommentary

Introduction

This work was written in Turkish. The summary on this page is a translation; the citation gives the original title in parentheses.

It has become an unavoidable necessity for the internet, which enters our lives more each day as technology develops, to become the subject of legal regulation in step with that development. This is because both its presence in every area of our lives and its nature as a constantly changing and developing field require the law likewise to follow these developments. The most recent of the legal provisions made on the internet is the law that was adopted by the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and then entered into force on publication in the Official Gazette. The law brings broadcasts made on the internet under the supervision of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) and gives the Council the power to request the blocking of access.

In this piece, in order to assess the draft law that introduces RTÜK supervision, I will first explain in detail the internet and how, with the development of information technologies, the need to regulate it by law arose, and then explain Law No. 5651, which was enacted to meet that need, and its relevant provisions. I will then examine the lawfulness of the draft law introducing RTÜK supervision, particularly in the context of Law No. 5651, and voice my criticisms and concerns on this point. However, the addition made to Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Media Services is in fact directly related to internet communication law.