Today, a great number of people suffer harm as a result of negative internet content. What is the legal dimension of harmful internet content?
First and foremost, negative internet content may have the following effects on individuals: constituting a criminal offence, damaging reputation, violating personality rights, breaching personal data, negatively affecting academic and professional life, and causing psychological distress. Various legal remedies are available in relation to these matters, which may broadly be expressed as the removal of existing internet content from publication or the application of an access block to that content. For example;
Access Block: This refers to the blocking of access to a specific URL where content published online, such as photographs, comments, videos, articles, or news, constitutes a violation of personal rights or contains criminal elements. Where this does not resolve the issue, it may extend to blocking access to the relevant website entirely.
Content Removal / Deletion: This refers to the complete removal of content published online, such as photographs, comments, videos, articles, or news from the relevant website, where such content constitutes a violation of personal rights or contains criminal elements. Content removal can only be carried out by the relevant content or hosting provider.
What is the legal regulatory dimension of access blocking or content removal?
Law No. 5651 governs the procedures applicable in this area. It is essential to have a thorough understanding of the key concepts that frequently arise under this law: Content Providers, Hosting Providers, Access Providers, Electronic Notification, Domain Names, IP addresses, URLs, and the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK).
The removal of content from the internet or the application of an access block is regulated under Articles 8 and 9 of Law No. 5651. Such measures are available in the following circumstances: violation of personality rights, commission of a criminal offence, public interest, public order, infringement of intellectual and industrial property rights, violation of privacy, breach of personal data, and the exercise of the right to be forgotten.
Additionally, violations of privacy and the lifting or application of access blocks are regulated under Article 134 of the Turkish Penal Code.
What is the criminal offence measure? What offences are associated with internet content?
Access blocking or content removal may also be applied in cases involving the commission of criminal offences. The most commonly encountered offences committed online include: incitement to suicide, sexual exploitation of children, gambling, prostitution, drug supply, supply of prohibited substances, blackmail, and non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
What is the right to be forgotten, and what does removing internet content under this right entail?
This right aims to eliminate the harm suffered by individuals as a result of content — such as news articles, photographs, videos, or comments — relating to past events in their lives being shared online and brought to public attention. Erasing the past in this sense removes the negative effects on the individual of content that has been left behind and no longer serves any public interest.
The following factors are taken into account when assessing a claim under the right to be forgotten: the nature of the publication, the length of time it has remained online, its currency, whether it constitutes research or historical data, public interest, whether the individual is a public figure, athlete, artist, or politician, public concern, and veracity. In cases involving public interest, swift action is essential.
Furthermore, it is possible to have content removed directly from platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube — whether for copyright infringement, privacy violations, or other grounds — through direct communication with those platforms. However, specific formats or petition templates are important for achieving prompt results in such communications.
The same applies to Google, Yandex, and other search engines. Where matters cannot be resolved through direct communication, it is possible to obtain results through court orders within the framework of the relevant legislation. In Turkey in particular, regulations requiring these platforms to appoint local representatives have made this process considerably more practical.
How can we make use of the law? What should we do if this happens to us?
An application may be made directly to the BTK. In matters involving violations of privacy, it is important to act swiftly. Accordingly, upon application, the matter is submitted to the Criminal Court of Peace within 24 hours, and the judge issues their decision within 48 hours. Where a decision to apply interim measures is made, it is forwarded to the BTK.
Where the grounds are a violation of personality rights, an application may first be made to the content or hosting provider requesting removal of the content — which must be responded to within 24 hours at the latest — or an application may be made directly to the Criminal Court of Peace for the removal of the content or the blocking of access. The decision is forwarded to the Access Providers Association and must be implemented within four hours at the latest.
Where the grounds are a violation of privacy, an application may be made either to the Criminal Court of Peace or directly to the BTK requesting an access block. The BTK forwards the request to the Access Providers Association, and it must be fulfilled within four hours at the latest. Following this, the applicant is required to apply to the Criminal Court of Peace within 24 hours of the request to seek an access block order. The judge then forwards their decision to the BTK within 48 hours; otherwise, implementation of the decision by the BTK is suspended. Where there is urgency, the President of the BTK may personally issue a decision — in which case an application to the Criminal Court of Peace within 24 hours remains mandatory.
Source
https://www.beyazgundem.com/gundem/av-baris-mukyen-olumsuz-internet-iceriklerinin-olusturdugu-magduriyete-h1412988.html