The Freedom of Expression Association (“İFÖD”), based in Istanbul, published the English version of its most recent report, Digital Obedience Regime: Social Media Platforms and the Illusion of Transparency in Türkiye, authored by CGFoE Expert Dr. Yaman Akdeniz of Istanbul Bilgi University and Senior Researcher Ozan Güven.

The report is part of İFÖD’s EngelliWeb initiative, which documents the systematic suppression of freedom of expression in Türkiye. The project’s latest data points to the enormous scale of censorship: by the end of 2024, the total number of websites and domain names blocked in the country had reached 1,264,506.

Introduction (excerpt):

“This study, entitled Digital Obedience Regime: Social Media Platforms and the Illusion of Transparency in Türkiye, centres on the precarious position of [social media] platforms within a climate of repression. The legal landscape for platforms in Türkiye was radically reshaped by amendments to Law No. 5651, first via Law No. 7253 in July 2020 and subsequently Law No. 7418 in October 2022. These regulations burdened entities defined as “Social Media Platforms” with critical obligations, including establishing local representation, data localisation, and mandatory transparency reporting.

Against the backdrop of the state’s intensifying censorship, this report questions the policies of foreign-sourced platforms with legal representation in Türkiye, namely YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Dailymotion, Pinterest, and VKontakte alongside the domestic platform, Ekşi Sözlük. Specifically, it examines whether these entities uphold fundamental rights and freedoms, or if they have capitulated to pressures designed to curb freedom of expression and the press.

The study goes beyond checking for formal compliance with legal procedures; it scrutinises whether these platforms actually defend free speech in the face of escalating state censorship. The methodology rests on a comparative analysis of local versus global transparency reports, corporate structure examinations via the Trade Registry Gazette, and field data from the EngelliWeb project.”

In case you missed it: Dr. Yaman Akdeniz recently spoke to CGFoE about the dire state of freedom of expression in Türkiye and his continuous efforts to counter censorship. Read the interview here.