Turkish ruling AKP deputy demands access ban on TikTok as well

Turkish parliament’s Digital Media Commission head, ruling AKP deputy Yayman has demanded an access ban to be imposed on TikTok, arguing “Our people want TikTok to be banned.” He said he does not see TikTok “as a space of freedom,” but rather “a space that is completely alienated from human values.”

Thursday August 08 2024 02:02 pm

Duvar English

Turkish parliament’s Digital Media Commission head, and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Hüseyin Yayman on Aug. 8 demanded an access ban imposed on the social media platform TikTok as well.

Yayman told Demirören News Agency that people on the streets were complaining to him about TikTok.

“People who see me on the street say, 'If you close this TikTok, you will go to heaven.' There is a very serious number of criticisms and complaints against TikTok,” he argued.

“I don't see it as a space of freedom for people of age to post there and to engage in very irrational, absurd behaviors to raise awareness, to make clumsy posts. I see it as a place that has completely moved away from human values, not only national values, but a total break from universal values and a great alienation. It is not possible to accept these,” he continued.

His comments came after a series of access bans issued by the Turkish government and judiciary on well-known websites and platforms, such as Wattpad, Instagram, and Roblox.

He called on TikTok “to adopt a broadcasting policy that is in line with Turkey's moral values, ethical values, traditions and customs.”

He claimed that they are against censorship as the AKP government, but “social media platforms should also act in accordance with their responsibilities.”

“The TikTok issue is a matter of national security for Turkey. The posts made to get interaction are so clumsy, so strange, so detached from reality that it is not possible to approve them. As a commission, we do not have a stance on blocking access to it, this is the responsibility of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). But if you ask me as the chair of the commission, politics is done together with the nation. Our nation wants TikTok to be banned,” he argued.

Yayman previously said, “Social media in Turkey has unfortunately become the center of devil and evil.”

A Turkish court banned access to the story-sharing platform Wattpad last month, followed by the government’s decision to ban access to Instagram for allegedly failing to comply with the country's “laws and rules” last week.

Another Turkish court on Aug. 7 banned access to the online gaming platform Roblox based on "the detection of content that may lead to child abuse."

Topics Hüseyin Yayman AKP TikTok Social Media access ban