Turkey block access to Facebook

Turkey has just put up a controversial system of voluntary Internet filters in order to safeguard official childhood any harmful content, but since some sectors is seen as a tool of censorship. The main controversy is due to that the application of some of these filters has blocked access to social networks, in a country that ranks fifth in number of users of Facebook and where 90% of Internet users have an account on this network.

The aim is to protect children from harmful content. Internet is a great blessing but, like medicines, can cause side effects has also drawn attention to the users of so-called "family filter" have not been able to open pages of brands of lingerie like Victoria's Secret and Calvin Klein or preservatives as Durex. However, Information Minister Binali Yildirim, has denied that the government is trying to impose "censorship" on the Internet , as netizens have criticized associations. "The goal is to protect children from harmful content. The Internet is a blessing but, like medicines, can cause side effects. Caring for children in this type of damage is up to the state," he said. Yes, the minister assured that run these filters "is not an obligation."

In fact, the system has had much less impact than expected when we began drafting the project last August. He then decided to make it mandatory for all users to use any of the four filters (family, children, national standard), but the move sparked much criticism that ultimately only the first two have been implemented on a voluntary basis.

Thus, the filter system has had little success and passed November 22, the day of its entry into force, only made ​​3000 requests to install, according to the Agency for Information Technology and Communication (BTK). The few new users have flooded the offices of BTK with emails and calls asking to be let in to websites blocked and the body has been forced to promise to check your filters .