Turkey bans access to streaming services Twitch and Kick
The Turkish lottery body has banned access to live streaming services Twitch and Kick without giving an official reason. Some commented the decision was taken due to the gambling streams.
Duvar English
Turkey’s National Lottery Administration has banned access to live streaming services Twitch and Kick.
The official reason for the bans is not known yet, but some commented it was taken due to the gambling streams on the platforms.
On the Information and Communication Technologies Authority’s (BTK) website, it says “twitch.tv has been blocked by the decision dated 22/02/2024 and numbered 2024/7 of Milli Piyango İdaresi Genel Müdürlüğü.”
Similarly, Kick was banned from access by the National Lottery Administration with a Feb. 20 decision.
Gambling is counted as a misdemeanor in Turkey, whereas providing a place and opportunity for gambling is a crime.
Banning access to websites is a common practice of the Turkish government. Turkey issued access bans to 137,717 websites in 2022, a report by the Istanbul-based Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) revealed.
Popular social network Ekşi Sözlük recently suffered from an access ban for over a year over “national security concerns” amid users’ heavy criticism of the government’s response to the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes.
The Constitutional Court (AYM) recently ruled “violation of freedom of expression” in more than 500 applications against online access blocking and content removal decisions.