Deutsche Welle and Voice of America will appeal against licensing in Turkey

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Deutsche Welle (DW) and Voice of America (VOA) stated that they will not apply to get a license from Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK). 

On Feb, 21, RTÜK announced that it has given 72 hours to the Turkish language websites of Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and Euronews to continue their publication in Turkey. RTÜK said that it would otherwise block access to the sites.

While DW announced that it will take the matter to court, VOA stated that it will appeal to authorities if there is no alternative.

The Director General of Deutsche Welle Peter Limbourg said this is an attempt to censor international media services.

“This move gives the Turkish authorities the opportunity to block all content in critical news if these news are not deleted. This makes the possibility of censorship open. We will oppose this and file a lawsuit before Turkish courts,” Limbourg said. 

VOA also declared a statement on its website, saying that RTÜK's move will enable censorship on the news that the government does not find appropriate. 

Emphasizing that it will not bow down to any kind of censorship, the statement said: “Absent an alternative, VOA believes that it will be obliged to file an objection with Turkish regulators to the request to apply for a license.”

Digital platforms are under the authority of RTÜK as part of a regulation that passed on Aug. 1, 2019. Broadcasting corporations can't operate without getting licenses from RTÜK as part of the amendment.

In line with Law 6112, RTÜK licenses television channels, radio stations, and video-on-demand content in addition to monitoring their content.

As part of the regulations, companies are forced to remove the content deemed inappropriate by RTÜK.

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