Turkey's media watchdog signals censorship of Netflix series The Protector

Turkey's media watchdog Radio and Television High Council (RTÜK) has signalled censorship of a scene that features two women kissing in the Netflix series The Protector. The RTÜK has the authority to control the content on Netflix as part of a regulation introduced on Aug. 1, 2019.

Duvar English

Turkey's media watchdog has signalled censorship of a scene that features two women kissing in the Netflix series The Protector.

Radio and Television High Council (RTÜK) head İbrahim Uslu has responded to a tweet that complained about the scene, which asked whether the watchdog has seen it.

"We watched it?," replied Uslu.

The RTÜK has the authority to control the content on Netflix as part of a regulation introduced on Aug. 1, 2019.

Most recently, Mahir Ünal, the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) deputy chair in charge of publicity and media, has implied that the Turkish government pressured Netflix Turkey to change the scenario of the teen drama Love 101.

“Netflix had previously commissioned a series [to Turkish producers]; the scenario of the series was prepared, and the series was about a homosexual character named Osman,” Ünal told journalist Cüneyt Özdemir on July 6.

Ünal's remarks have exposed the censorship imposed on the series as none of the characters in the show are homosexual.

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