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| Google Removes Links to Images of Slain Prosecutor in Turkey | Google Removes Links to Images of Slain Prosecutor in Turkey |
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| ISTANBUL — Google was spared on Tuesday from a recent wave of Internet bans in Turkey after it reportedly complied with a court order to remove links to images of Mehmet Selim Kiraz, a prosecutor who died after leftist militants took him hostage at an Istanbul courthouse last week. | ISTANBUL — Google was spared on Tuesday from a recent wave of Internet bans in Turkey after it reportedly complied with a court order to remove links to images of Mehmet Selim Kiraz, a prosecutor who died after leftist militants took him hostage at an Istanbul courthouse last week. |
| Twitter and YouTube were temporarily blocked in Turkey on Monday after they failed to respond to an order to remove photographs and other content showing one of the hostage takers pointing a gun at Mr. Kiraz’s head during the assault. | Twitter and YouTube were temporarily blocked in Turkey on Monday after they failed to respond to an order to remove photographs and other content showing one of the hostage takers pointing a gun at Mr. Kiraz’s head during the assault. |
| Senior government officials have criticized the publication of the photographs, branding the images terrorist propaganda and citing the lack of consideration for the victim’s family and friends. News outlets that showed the images were not granted access to cover the prosecutor’s funeral. | Senior government officials have criticized the publication of the photographs, branding the images terrorist propaganda and citing the lack of consideration for the victim’s family and friends. News outlets that showed the images were not granted access to cover the prosecutor’s funeral. |
| People on social media in Turkey, accustomed to similar bans in recent years, easily circumvented the restriction on Twitter by using services to relocate their Internet protocol access points, and the hashtag #twitterisblockedinturkey became a trending topic in a few hours. | |
| Facebook was the first to follow the court’s instructions to remove photographs, as well as audio and other visual content related to the episode. The social media site remained accessible from Turkey throughout the legal wrangling. | |
| Access to Twitter was re-established Monday evening. YouTube stayed blocked for a few hours longer. | Access to Twitter was re-established Monday evening. YouTube stayed blocked for a few hours longer. |
| In a separate court ruling on Monday, the authorities gave Google four hours to comply with the restrictions. | In a separate court ruling on Monday, the authorities gave Google four hours to comply with the restrictions. |
| “Google is different from hosting providers like Twitter or YouTube. It is a major search engine,” Burcak Unsal, an expert in digital law, said. “It may take days to clear Google content when it gets constantly re-added, so the company must have ensured that it has started the process to evade the ban.” | “Google is different from hosting providers like Twitter or YouTube. It is a major search engine,” Burcak Unsal, an expert in digital law, said. “It may take days to clear Google content when it gets constantly re-added, so the company must have ensured that it has started the process to evade the ban.” |
| Some see the recent restrictions on the Internet as an early sign of efforts by the governing Justice and Development Party to curb freedom of expression and to silence dissenting voices before national elections in June. | Some see the recent restrictions on the Internet as an early sign of efforts by the governing Justice and Development Party to curb freedom of expression and to silence dissenting voices before national elections in June. |
| Twitter’s latest transparency report showed that Turkey made the second-largest number of requests for data information, after the United States, in the second half of 2014. | Twitter’s latest transparency report showed that Turkey made the second-largest number of requests for data information, after the United States, in the second half of 2014. |
| “The government knows that social media networks are the best venue for free and critical thinking, which makes them nervous,” said Yaman Akdeniz, a professor at Bilgi University in Istanbul who specializes in digital law, citing legislative changes last year that made it much easier to restrict access to the Internet. | “The government knows that social media networks are the best venue for free and critical thinking, which makes them nervous,” said Yaman Akdeniz, a professor at Bilgi University in Istanbul who specializes in digital law, citing legislative changes last year that made it much easier to restrict access to the Internet. |
| “This is part of an intimidation campaign on the Internet before June elections,” he added. | “This is part of an intimidation campaign on the Internet before June elections,” he added. |