Technological Gamble Elon Musk was under the fire of Turkish dissidents due to actions aimed at closing X accounts associated with demonstrations and opposition against the President of the country's recept of Tayyip Erdogan.
Owner X uses “double standards”as Politico Can Dundar says, former editor -in -chief of “Cumhuriyet”, one of the oldest Turkish dailies. While Musk spoke about freedom of speech during the US elections, he collaborated with an autocratic regime to censor statements, emphasizes Dundar.
In Istanbul and other large cities, anti -government protests have been underway for weeks, democratic activists and other dissidents after the arrest of the Imamogle Ekrem, the main political rival of Erdogan and the presidential candidate.
In response, Erdogan took the sight of the social media platform. According to the spokesperson, to which Facebook belongs, The company was fined for failure to follow the demands of the Turkish government regarding accounts closing.
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Musk – who is not known for biting his tongue – was silent about the protests, and his account X did not mention much about the Turkish confusion. For contrast last year, the entrepreneur often mixed up in European policy. He criticized the prime minister of Great Britain Keira Starmer for his behavior during last year's protests and compared the great Britain to the Soviet Union. He called the former EU Commissioner for Digital Affairs, Thierry Breton, “Tyrant in Europe”. He recently spoke against the judgment of the French court, which found the far -right leader Marine Le Pen to the guilty of embezzlement and blocked her start in the presidential election in 2027.
After the beginning of the protests, the company X informed that it received a suspension order from the Turkish government about 700 accounts. Dundar's account was suspended with 177 others in October last year. as part of a broadly closing operation of internet accounts.
X informed last week that he questioned the order to close in the National Constitutional Tribunal. However, the order referred to, to which Politico has reached, precedes a protest by several weeks. X did not answer the question of Politico whether he appealed against any newer government orders. The company only stated in an online entry that it “opposes” many court orders, but did not explain which orders and how to oppose them.
One of the people in the company whom we provided anonymity so that she could reveal confidential information, she said that submitted a total of six complaints about the decisions of the authorities in the Turkish Constitutional Tribunal. X fulfilled the entities of Erdogan's government for intervention in the past. Before the election in Turkey in 2023, X limited access to the content – the decision that Musk personally defended.
A few years ago X (then Twitter) “would simply ignore these demands, would send us a letter with information that such a request [o zawieszenie kont] He was submitted “, but he would not listen to him, says Metin Cihan, an independent journalist whose account X was also suspended in February before the beginning of the current protests. Cihan said, that this policy changed after Musk took over Twitter in 2022.
Musk also met with Erdogan in 2023, and the Turkish president asked him to build a Tesla factory in this country, as Reuters said. They both discussed the licenses for Turkey from the Starlink satellite internet supplierSpaceX Muska subsidiary.
YouTube and Facebook also feel pressure.
Two Turkish “gagging” orders that Politico saw, based on the reasons national security and public order And they contained little explanations justifying the blockade.
Turkish law does not require prior judicial control such orders when they are issued as extraordinary measures. Article 8a of the Turkish Internet law, which was referred to in letters, which Politico reached, “cannot be considered to be providing necessary procedural guarantees In order to protect the right to freedom on the Internet, “the European Rights Council found experts from the Human Rights Organization.
PAP/EPA/NECATI SAVAS
Protesters in Ankara, April 6, 2025.
In the first half of 2024, Google announced that 29 percent Orders for removing the content issued by the Turkish government were issued for national security reasons – the highest percentage from 2019. The technology company removed at least 28 percent. all content covered by the removal demands.
In addition to X and Facebook, youtube belonging to Google is also one of the few options of the free word that remained to journalists and oppositionists. Dundar regretted what would happen if YouTube also bends. The video platform directed Politico to its online documentation on how they deal with government demands to remove content. The Turkish government exerted pressure on the company, saying in September last year, that journalists on the platform must be licensed.
YouTube replied in an e-mail that he had introduced Review of government applications in accordance with applicable regulations and own rules. He refused to comment on how he would implement a policy requiring journalists to have a license.
While the platforms are struggling with Ankara's demands, their legal efforts – such as court complaints x – They may be irrelevant. The Constitutional Tribunal needs from a year to three years, and sometimes even longer, to issue a decision, which he pointed out to X Yaman Akdeniz, a professor of law from Istanbul Bilgi University.
According to journalist Hayko Baghdata, whose account was also recently suspended, challenging the dotting orders in court “not enough” because The Turkish judiciary is filled with Erdogan loyalists.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
