Before even a year has passed after the enactment of the social media regulation under the name of “protecting children from harmful content”, which strengthened censorship, the ruling power recently announced that a second regulation will be brought to the Parliamentary agenda, this time under the category of “battling against disinformation and false news.” The regulation predicts an imprisonment sentence against those “spreading disinformation” on social media from 1 year up to 5 years.
We would like to remind the parties of a political document written under the coordination of Article 19 with the title, “Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression, ‘False News’, Disinformation and Propaganda.” The declaration was written with the worry that the predicted regulation would “contribute to” the erosion of the most basic rights and freedoms in Turkey as freedom of expression and thought freedom are being systematically violated.
Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and “Fake News”, Disinformation and Propaganda