Erdoğan vows to curb social media in Turkey

Erdogan has vowed to tighten government controls on social media.

Erdogan said that his government is determined to introduce legislation that would force social media companies.

The requirement would mean social media companies could be held financially accountable and forced to obey the decisions of Turkish courts.

Turkish people have expressed concern at Erdogan’s threats to social media companies. The hashtag #SosyalMedyamaDOKUNMA (#DontTouchMySocialNetworks) was top trending in the country on Wednesday.

Critics fear the move is aimed at further limiting freedom of speech in Turkey and preventing access to foreign news information.

The Turkish government has long been considering amendments to restrict social networks and has previously blocked access to thousands of websites.

In February, data from the NetBlocks internet observatory showed that Turkish access was cut to social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, following an airstrike in Syria.