The foreign broadcaster is now also coming under pressure in Turkey.
(Photo: dpa)
Ankara, Berlin After the ban on broadcasting in Russia, Deutsche Welle is now threatened with trouble in Turkey. Turkey’s Broadcasting Inspectorate (RTÜK) has given three international media houses a 72-hour deadline to obtain operating licenses for their Turkish-language websites, RTÜK board member Ilhan Tasci said on Twitter on Wednesday.
Otherwise, Deutsche Welle, Voice of America and Euronews will be blocked from accessing their platforms. The regulatory body decided this with a majority of the votes of the nine RTÜK board members. This applies to the websites dw.com/tr, amerikaninsesi.com, and tr.euronews.com.
A spokesman for Deutsche Welle said it was not possible to comment on this for the time being. Because there is no official information from the RTÜK on the facts so far.
Tasci, who is also an opposition MP, criticized the move by the Supreme Radio and Television Council (RTÜK) as another attack on media freedom in Turkey. The RTÜK board, which is dominated by the ruling AK party, was initially unable to give a reason for the procedure.
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Turkey has tightened media scrutiny in recent years, giving RTÜK sweeping oversight of all online content, which it can also remove. About 90 percent of mainstream media in Turkey is now state-owned or government-affiliated.
Deutsche Welle is an institution under public law and belongs to ARD. Last week, the government in Moscow canceled Deutsche Welle’s broadcasting license for Russia. This is seen as a retaliation for the fact that the Commission for Licensing and Supervision (ZAK) of the media authorities banned the distribution of the Russian television channel RT DE in Germany at the beginning of February. According to the German authorities, RT DE does not have a media license.
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