The social network Twitter will appoint an official representative in Turkey, subject to a controversial law that could force it to remove content at the request of the authorities.
“In order for Twitter to remain accessible to all who use it in Turkey, we have decided to establish a legal entity there,” the social network said in a statement released on Friday evening.
The Turkish government said it had been notified of this decision, which comes after several months of standoff between Ankara and the social media giants.
In January, Turkey banned Twitter from advertising revenue to force it to appoint a legal representative under a law that came into effect in October.
Under this law, social networks with a representative in Turkey can be forced to remove content at the request of the Turkish authorities within 48 hours. In the event of refusal, various sanctions are foreseen.
The main social networks had appointed their representative in Turkey in recent months, such as Facebook in January.
The Turkish government maintains that this law, passed after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for “bringing order” to social networks, aims to fight against cyberbullying.
But for its detractors, this text opens the door to censorship, the Turkish authorities tirelessly tracking down critics on social networks, especially since an attempted coup in 2016 followed by repression.
Social networks are closely watched by the Turkish government and numerous lawsuits for “insulting the head of state” or “terrorist propaganda” have been brought on the basis of simple tweets.
In 2019, Turkey blocked access to 408,000 sites, 40,000 tweets, 10,000 YouTube videos and 6,200 shares on Facebook, according to a report by the Freedom of Expression Association.
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