Turkish Parliament issues sanction warning to TikTok for failing to fulfill promises

Huseyin Yayman, the chairperson of the Turkish Parliament's Digital Media Commission, highlighted the wave of disinformation on various social media platforms before the local elections held on March 31, saying that there was incitement on these platforms regarding street animals, refugees, the economy and the cost of living.

Yayman emphasized the importance of digital media but said that unlimited freedom and an understanding of the denigration of others are incorrect.

Expressing that there is "global malevolence" in digital media and social media, he announced they will address this issue again in the coming period.

'TikTok national security issue'

Yayman said that the statements made by TikTok representatives in the parliament in December last year did not satisfy the commission members and the public.

He explained that digital networks have their own self-regulation mechanisms, which are inadequate. "Our people tell us, 'This TikTok is a national security issue, we want this place shut down," he said.

"While you comply with these self-regulation mechanisms in the U.S., Europe, and other countries worldwide, why don't you comply in Türkiye? It is neither suitable for our national and moral values nor universal norms for people to engage in extrajudicial behavior under the guise of money or fundraising," Yayman addressed the TikTok representatives. 

"We will call TikTok representatives to the Parliament again in the coming days. Because we see a difference between the answers they gave us and the practices they implemented. We see some promises, but these promises are not kept. We do not approve of these at all. We can take measures ranging from bandwidth restriction, advertising and trade bans to license revocation in coordination with our Ministry of Transport and Information Technologies and Communication Authority," Yayman said.

'We will never allow Türkiye to surrender to a troll mentality'

Yayman underscored that the fight against disinformation is a nonpartisan issue and emphasized that they will never back down on it.

"The most frequently mentioned issue in the Parliament is this, our deputies and our citizens complain about it. We will never allow Türkiye to surrender to a troll mentality. Our fight against these troll accounts, which seek to hijack politics, will continue. We will never allow the Republic of Türkiye to be threatened by troll accounts regarding national security," he said.

Source: Newsroom