Now Turkey blocks YouTube

Following the ban of social media site Twitter in Turkey last week, today video website Youtube has also been blocked in the country.The ban comes after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by Reuters at a rally last week saying: 'I don't understand how people of good sense could defend this Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. There are all kinds of lies there.'Google has confirmed reports that some users have been unable to access the site. It is thought that some internet users in the country can still access Youtube.The video website has been blocked after voice recordings of senior officials discussing a potential military operation in Syria have flooded the site - it  is believed.Government officials confirmed today that more social media platforms could be blocked if national security was threatened.At a rally today, the Prime Minister described the fact that the audio had been posted on Youtube as 'villainous'.A source at the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said today that the videos had caused 'a national security issue'.The source said that Turkey was in talks with the video sharing platform and may lift the ban if YouTube agreed to remove the content.Turkey's courts blocked access to Twitter last week following Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's vow, on the campaign trail ahead of key March 30 local elections, to 'wipe out' the service. The Twitter ban was lifted yesterday.In a defiant stand, Mr Erdogan said he did not care what the international community had to say about the move.People across the country have today tweeted pictures of their computer screens featuring the blocked Youtube message. Journalist Jonathon Burch, tweeting from Turkey, posted this picture on his Twitter page earlier today.Last week, Turkey's Prime Minister used the expression 'Twitter, mwitter!,' to describe the social media website to thousands of rally supporters.The phrase can be translated roughly as 'Twitter, schmitter!''The international community can say this, can say that. I don't care at all. Everyone will see how powerful the Republic of Turkey is,' Mr Erdogan said.Last week, some users found a way of getting around the Twitter ban by using Google's DNS tool. The tool allows internet users to browse from another domain name system. A DNS transforms the name of a website into a series of numbers known as an IP address.Twitter users in Turkey circulated the alternative DNS address 8.8.8.8 on social media. Graffiti with the words has also appeared on a wall in the country.A logo with the Twitter symbol and the words #DirenTwitter and its English translation #OccupyTwitter also went viral.#Turkey was once again trending today following the Youtube block in the country.The Prime Minister, who has been in power for 11 years, is battling a corruption scandal that has been fed by social media awash with alleged evidence of government wrongdoing.Links on social networks have proliferated linking to recordings that appear to incriminate the Prime Minister and other top officials in corruption.Turkey has blocked access to Youtube in the past, last week was the first ban on social media website Twitter.The social network was instrumental in organizing flash protests against the government last year. Uproar over the recordings has damaged the government's reputation ahead of local elections this month.Despite the ban, tech-savvy users managed to tweet links to the recordings last Friday. President Abdullah Gul, a political ally of Erdogan's, was among those who circumvented the order, which he contested in a series of tweets. The country's President Abdullah Gul said that it was unacceptable to impose complete bans on social media platforms such as Twitter.'I hope this implementation won't last long,' he wrote. 'One cannot approve of the complete closure of social media platforms,' Mr Gul tweeted.He said only individual Internet pages should be blocked if there is a court order on the grounds that a person's privacy is being violated.Mr Gul co-founded the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party with Erdogan and has remained a close ally. But he is viewed as a more conciliatory figure than the combative Prime Minister and their relations have at times appeared strained.Mr Erdogan's ruling AK Party has already tightened Internet controls, handed government more influence over the courts, and reassigned thousands of police and hundreds of prosecutors and judges as it fights a corruption scandal he has cast as a plot by political enemies to oust him.Many - although not all - users trying to access the network early on Friday instead saw a notice from Turkey's telecommunications authority, citing four court orders.Turkey's lawyers' association asked a court to overturn the ban, arguing it was unconstitutional and violated Turkish and European human rights laws. Turkey's main opposition party also said it would seek a cancellation. Twitter's (at)policy account sent out messages telling Turkish users in both English and Turkish they could send out tweets by using short message service, or 'SMS.' It was unclear how those tweets would be viewable. Telecoms watchdog BTK said the social media platform had been blocked by the courts after complaints were made by citizens that it was breaching privacy.It said Twitter had ignored previous requests to remove content.'Because there was no other choice, access to Twitter was blocked in line with court decisions to avoid the possible future victimization of citizens,' it said.European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes criticized the Twitter ban in Turkey - a country that is seeking to join the European Union - as 'groundless, pointless, cowardly.' Stefan Fule, the EU commissioner in charge of enlargement, said he was concerned. Lutfi Elvan, the minister in charge of transport and communications in Turkey, said his office was merely obeying court orders.Chancellor Angela Merkel's government criticised Turkey saying the ban did not fit with Germany's view of freedom of expression.'What we are hearing from Turkey does not comply with what we in Germany understand as free communication,' said Mrs Merkel's spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz. 'It doesn't fit with our idea of freedom of expression to forbid or block any form of communication,' she added.In response to the Twitter ban in Turkey, Dr Paul Dwyer, social media expert from the University of Westminster, said: 'President Erdogan said, when he attempted to close down access to Twitter, ‘everyone will see how powerful Turkey is’. 'In fact, of course, he has simply demonstrated how powerful Twitter is. 'Social media are a part of politics - and everything else we do. And so we must learn to use them well and for good, otherwise we will find ourselves, as President Erdogan now does, out of touch with the modern world.'(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az