Govt to follow court order lifting block on Twitter: Turkey's deputy PM

HATAY, Turkey

Turkey's Deputy PM Bulent Arinc said Wednesday that the government would follow the court order lifting the block on Twitter access.

"We may or may not like a court decision, but we certainly abide by it," Arinc told journalists in the southern city of Hatay.

Earlier in the day, an Ankara-based administrative court issued a temporary injunction ordering Turkey's official telecommunications authority TIB, to lift the block on access to Twitter, which was implemented on Thursday night.

"If its reasoned decision has been issued, what TIB should do is obvious," Arinc said.

One of the most senior voices in the Turkish cabinet, Arinc said his government had taken steps that were even more progressive than those taken by the U.S. in terms of promoting broadband internet and its access.

"But, Twitter is a private corporation after all; whatever is crime in real life is still a crime when it is committed in cyberspace," he said.

He noted that some people's privacy rights had been violated and attacked on social media. "If a court orders blocking a webpage on the grounds of these violations, we, of course, will abide by it," he said.

Arinc also pointed to a double standard that the Twitter management ignored court orders taken in Turkey, although in the past they followed verdicts issued in other Western countries. "What is missing in Turkey? Aren't courts in Turkey 'courts'?"

"For us, human is the focal point. Whenever people's honour and privacy are under attack, we are against it," he said.

Turkey's Internet authority blocked access to Twitter late on Thursday after a court issued an order demanding the website remove tweets containing certain links.

Claiming that Twitter's management ignored calls from the Turkish government, the authorities described the move as a temporary measure, not a ban.

englishnews@aa.com.tr