Turkey bans US and German channels
July 1, 2022
Turkey has banned two international public broadcasters. The websites of Germany’s Deutsche Welle and the Turkish-language version of US public radio service Voice of America were blocked by an Ankara court after they refused to comply with a request to obtain a broadcast licence.
The two outlets had argued that being regulated by the country’s broadcast watchdog would lead to demands that would amount to censorship.
DW’s director-general Peter Limbourg said the company had outlined in discussions with the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) why it could not comply with the request to obtain a permit, including the fact that licensed media in Turkey are required to delete content that the watchdog deems inappropriate.
Following the announcement, both DW and VOA shared information via social media on how to circumvent the ban using virtual private networks and similar technologies.