The Turkish government's ban on Twitter was probably always a losing battle, given the various workarounds
available to the country's tech-savvy citizens. But now the six-day-old
prohibition is also losing in the courts, according to a report from
the Hürriyet Daily News. The newspaper says a Turkish court has
issued a "stay of execution" on the government's order, which means the
ban should be lifted until judges have the chance to weigh up the many
complaints that have been lodged against it. This sounds like a positive
step for opposition parties and civil rights activists, but it could
equally prove to be just a temporary victory in the face of Prime
Minister's Erdogan's continued threats against the "scourge" of social media.
Update: Shortly after the court ruling, Twitter has come forward to confirm that it was one of the parties that filed a complaint. In a post on the company's official blog, Twitter General Counsel Vijaya Gadde said that earlier today, the company filed petitions for lawsuits in an attempt permanently overturn the country-wide access ban. While it awaits a response, Twitter said it has also begun using its "Country Withheld Content" tool for the first time in the country, hiding tweets belonging to a user who the public prosecutor believes could be in danger.
[Image credit: Myrat/Wikipedia]
Update: Shortly after the court ruling, Twitter has come forward to confirm that it was one of the parties that filed a complaint. In a post on the company's official blog, Twitter General Counsel Vijaya Gadde said that earlier today, the company filed petitions for lawsuits in an attempt permanently overturn the country-wide access ban. While it awaits a response, Twitter said it has also begun using its "Country Withheld Content" tool for the first time in the country, hiding tweets belonging to a user who the public prosecutor believes could be in danger.
[Image credit: Myrat/Wikipedia]