This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/27/google-youtube-ban-turkey-erdogan

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Google investigates reports of ban on YouTube in Turkey Turkey blocks access to YouTube amid 'national security' concerns
(about 3 hours later)
The tech giant Google said on Thursday that it is investigating reports that its video-sharing website, YouTube, had been blocked in Turkey, days after similar action was taken against Twitter. The Turkish government reinforced its heavily criticised clampdown on social media on Thursday, blocking YouTube a week after it restricted access to the micro-blogging platform Twitter. The latest curbs came hours after an audio recording of a high-level security meeting was leaked on the video-sharing website.
A source at the prime minister's office told Reuters that the government had taken action against YouTube after voice recordings, purportedly of senior officials discussing a potential military operation in Syria, created a "national security issue". According to Turkish media reports, the decision to block YouTube was taken by Turkey’s telecommunications authority (TİB) as a “precautionary administrative measure.” In February, Turkey passed a much criticised new internet law that allows the telecommunications regulator to block websites without a court order. Turkey previously banned YouTube in 2007, but lifted the ban three years later.
The source said that Turkey was in talks with the video-sharing platform and may lift the ban if YouTube agreed to remove the content. Social media users in Turkey were able to access the site using "virtual private networks" (VPNs) – which allow an anonymous connection to the web – or by changing the domain name settings (DNS) on computers and mobile devices.
"We're seeing reports that some users are not able to access YouTube in Turkey. There is no technical issue on our side and we're looking into the situation," Google said in a statement emailed to the Guardian."We're seeing reports that some users are not able to access YouTube in Turkey. There is no technical issue on our side and we're looking into the situation," Google said in a statement emailed to the Guardian.
The move came after Turkey's telecoms authority (TIB) blocked access to Twitter on Friday. That created outrage in Turkey, where social media is widely used, and a court overturned the block on Wednesday. The move by the TIB came hours after an anonymous YouTube account posted a leaked audio recording allegedly of a confidential conversation between Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan, foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu, undersecretary of the foreign ministry Feridun Sinirlioglu and deputy chief of the general staff, Yasar Gürel, discussing possible military action in Syria.
The prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is battling a corruption scandal, and a stream of anonymous postings purportedly revealing government wrongdoing has appeared on the social media platform in recent weeks. A source at the prime minister's office told Reuters that the government had taken action against YouTube after the leak of the voice recordings created a "national security issue". The source said that Turkey was in talks with the video-sharing platform and may lift the ban if YouTube agreed to remove the content.
Several similarly incriminating recordings, allegedly showing massive government corruption and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's direct influence on the media, have been leaked on social media in recent weeks. Erdogan has dismissed the allegations as lies and blackmail, accusing the opposition of trying to undermine the success of his Justice and Development party (AKP) ahead of critical local elections on Sunday.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Diyarbakir, Erdogan accused the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania, of being behind the leaks: “Pennsylvania commits treason. […] To publish this recording is villainous, cowardly and immoral. Who are you serving with the surveillance of such a meeting?”
A public statement published on the foreign ministry’s website called the leak “an act of espionage.” A local prosecutor’s office has meanwhile launched an investigation into the YouTube account.
The move against YouTube came after the TIB blocked access to Twitter on Friday. That created outrage in Turkey, where social media is widely used, and a court overturned the block on Wednesday.
Friday's Twitter block came hours after Erdoğan vowed on the campaign trail to get rid of Twitter. He said on Tuesday that the network "was threatening national security" and that it had refused to co-operate with the Turkish authorities.Friday's Twitter block came hours after Erdoğan vowed on the campaign trail to get rid of Twitter. He said on Tuesday that the network "was threatening national security" and that it had refused to co-operate with the Turkish authorities.