Turkiye: Issued ruling in Lawsuit over constitutionality of content moderation provisions social media law 2020 (2020/76)

On 11 October 2023, the Constitutional Court of Turkey issued a ruling, numbered 2020/76, concerning Article 8(4) and (11) and Article 9 of the Law on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by Means of such Publications (No. 5651). The Constitutional Court annulled articles of the Internet Law on the grounds that they violated constitutional rights. Article 8(4), which allowed the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ITCA) to issue content removal and access-blocking decisions without a finalized court ruling, was annulled for violating the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence (Articles 36 and 38 of the Constitution). Article 9, which enabled individuals and entities to request the removal or blocking of online content, was annulled for violating freedom of expression and the press (Articles 25 and 26), as it allowed indefinite blocking of content without procedural safeguards or proportionate decision-making. The annulment emphasizes the need for judicial oversight and protection of constitutional rights in internet regulation.