Turkish parliament to vote on controversial social media law

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish lawmakers were making their final speeches Tuesday before voting on a bill that would give the government greater powers to regulate social media, in what human rights groups and the opposition have decried as a violation of free expression online.

The new legislation would require major social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to keep representative offices in Turkey to deal with complaints against content on their platforms. Failure to remove content deemed offensive could result in steep fines, advertising bans and bandwidth reductions that would make social media networks very slow for users.

The government says the measures are needed to combat cybercrime, and will protect people from slander while safeguarding their right to privacy. Critics say the bill would increase online censorship in Turkey.

The new legislation also would require social media providers to store user data in Turkey, which the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday said would undermine “people’s right to communicate anonymously.”

The bill first made its rounds in April but was then removed. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his call for more regulation following distasteful comments on social media after the birth of a grandchild.

Parliament is expected to vote on the bill late Tuesday or early Wednesday.