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Shutdown of social media platforms ‘cannot be approved,’ President Gul writes on Twitter

Türkiye Materials 21 March 2014 14:06 (UTC +04:00)
Shutdown of social media platforms ‘cannot be approved,’ President Gul writes on Twitter
Shutdown of social media platforms ‘cannot be approved,’ President Gul writes on Twitter

President Abdullah Gul has publically expressed his disagreement with the access restriction of social media websites, in his first remarks on the Twitter ban.

"A total shutdown of social media platforms cannot be approved," Gul tweeted via his own account on March 21.

Despite stressing that no such ban could be fully implemented, Gul expressed his hope that the government's move would not last long.

"As I have said many times in the past, at the point where communication technologies have reached today it is technically impossible to entirely block access to social media platforms used across the world such as Twitter. I hope this practice will not last long," he wrote.

Gul had assured that there was no question of blocking access to social media platforms or popular sharing websites such as YouTube, following the recent enactment of a controversial law increasing government control over the Internet.

Turkey blocked access to Twitter late March 20, hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to close down the social media platform.

"We now have a court order. We'll eradicate Twitter. I don't care what the international community says. Everyone will witness the power of the Turkish Republic's state," Erdogan had said at a campaign rally in the western city of Bursa, triggering uproar 10 days before the upcoming local elections.

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