Turkiye: Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) adopted regulation on social network providers including content moderation regulation

On 28 March 2023, the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) adopted a decision titled "Procedures and Principles about Social Network Providers," which enters into force on 1 April 2023. This decision, issued under Additional Article 4 of Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Broadcasts via the Internet and the Prevention of Crimes Committed through Such Broadcasts (Internet Law), replaces BTK’s 2 October 2020 decision that initially set out obligations for social network providers. The updated regulation expands BTK’s content moderation oversight, requiring providers with more than one million daily users from Turkey to implement mechanisms for removing illegal content, responding to user complaints, and complying with court-ordered content takedowns and access restrictions. Social network providers must report biannually on the implementation of content removal requests, while failure to comply may result in administrative fines, advertising bans, and bandwidth restrictions. Additionally, representatives of social network providers may be required to share user data with judicial authorities in cases involving serious crimes, such as child exploitation, national security threats, and misinformation offences.