The Foreign Media Association (FMA) is deeply concerned over recent developments with Turkey’s Radio and Television High Council (RTÜK) forcing several international news outlets to apply for online broadcast licenses.

A 72-hour time limit imposed by RTÜK on the Turkish language services of DW, Euronews and VOA to apply for a license or risk having their webpages blocked is the latest example of government-imposed restrictions over independent media. Of the three targeted media platforms, DW does not have a separate domain for its Turkish service so is facing the danger of a complete block on all 30 of its different language services.

RTÜK bases its latest decision on the “Directive on Radio, TV, and On-Demand Broadcasts Shared on the Internet” which went into force in August 2019.

Threatening to block international media websites is the latest step in the crackdown on the media in Turkey. For years, relying on hefty fines, arbitrary powers, and vaguely defined regulations, independent and critical press has been subject to deliberate and targeted crackdown, including imprisonment of media representatives. More than 100 media outlets have been shut down in the past years. According to Reporters Without Borders, 2021 World Press Freedom Index Turkey ranks 153 out of 180 countries.

The recent directive, which makes it compulsory for media to obtain a RTÜK license, is in violation of several principles, including the right to freedom of expression and the right to information, protected under the Turkish Constitution and the right of freedom of media and broadcasting protected by the European Convention of Human Rights.

FMA urges authorities to swiftly revise all rules in a way that respects press freedom and stands with journalists in Turkey, who are simply doing their jobs reporting the news in an impartial manner. We remind the authorities that freedom of the press is a pillar of democracy.

The FMA Board

23 February 2022