Turkey remains Not Free in Freedom Houses 2020 Freedom in the World index, in large part due to the level of retribution against exercising ones right to free expression. Many of those safeguards for rights protections in Turkey had been stripped away before COVID-19 took hold. In 2016, following a failed military coup attempt, over 150 media outlets were shuttered, and thousands of journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens were jailed under allegations of participation in terrorist activities.

At Freedom House, before the pandemic unfolded, we conducted research on public trust in the media in Turkey. We found that pressures and restrictions against media in Turkey have contributed to low public trust in the media overall, as well as a significant shift in media consumption habits. We learned that the Turkish public has turned more and more to the internet and to social media as sources of information and news.

However, this shift comes with significant public concerns about, and anxiety around, censorship, surveillance and untrustworthy information. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents expressed concern about the effects of censorship in Turkey, and 64 per cent revealed that they were worried about the government monitoring their online activities. Thirty-five per cent of those who expressed concerned about these issues were specifically troubled by the governments concealment of rights abuses.

A proposed draft law on social media appeared on the scene in April, and this month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to tighten his grip on social media. Following that promise, at least 11 people were detained for posting allegedly insulting tweets about Erdogans newborn grandchild.

The passage of this legislation would ultimately give the authorities more control over content online, including Facebook, Instagram, and popular apps like WhatsApp and Messenger. These measures impact the free speech not just of outspoken journalists and activists but the broader public, as they turn increasingly to social and online media for information and expression. These decisions also bleed into the entertainment sphere; Netflix was blocked on the Turkish parliaments campus this month. As 130,000 websites in Turkey were banned in 2019 alone, the streaming giant might very well follow suit.

After a gay character in a Turkish-language drama on Netflix created a backlash in Turkeys conservative circles, Erdogan told Reuters: Do you understand now why we are against social media platforms such asYouTube, Twitter and Netflix? These platforms do not suit this nation. We want to shut [them] down, control [them] by bringing [a bill] to parliament as soon as possible.

Read more:

Turkey is Using Pandemic to Tighten Chokehold on Free Expression - Balkan Insight