REGULATION OF PUBLICATIONS MADE ON THE INTERNET AND THIS

FIGHTING CRIMES COMMITTED THROUGH PUBLICATIONS

LAW ABOUT

             Law No. 5651                        Date of Acceptance: 4/5/2007

             Purpose and scope

             ARTICLE 1 – (1) Purpose and scope of this Law; It regulates the obligations and responsibilities of content providers, hosting providers, access providers and public use providers, and the principles and procedures regarding the fight against certain crimes committed in the internet environment through content, hosting and access providers.

             Definitions

             ARTICLE 2 – (1) In the application of this Law;

             a) Ministry: Ministry of Transport,

             b) Presidency: Telecommunications Communications Directorate within the Institution,

             c) President: Head of Telecommunications Communications,

             ç) Information: The meaningful form of the data,

             d) Access: Gaining the opportunity to use it by connecting to an internet environment,

             e) Access provider: Any natural or legal entity that provides its users with access to the internet environment,

             f) Content provider: Real or legal entities that produce, modify and provide any information or data presented to users via the Internet environment,

             g) Internet environment: The environment created on the Internet, which is open to the public and outside personal or corporate computer systems through communication,

             g) Publication on the Internet: Data that is available on the Internet and whose content can be accessed by an indefinite number of people,

             h) Monitoring: Tracking information and data without affecting the data on the Internet,

             ı) Institution: Telecommunications Authority,

             i) Public use provider: One that provides people with the opportunity to use the internet environment in a certain place and for a certain period of time,

             j) Traffic information: Values such as parties, time, duration, type of service used, amount of data transferred and connection points regarding all kinds of access performed in the Internet environment,

             k) Data: Any value that can be processed by the computer,

             l) Publication: Publication made on the Internet,

             m) Hosting provider: Real or legal entities that provide or operate systems that host services and content,

Represents             .

             Obligation to inform

             ARTICLE 3 – (1) Content, hosting and access providers are obliged to keep their promotional information up-to-date and accessible to users on their own internet environment, within the framework of the principles and procedures determined by the regulation.

             (2) An administrative fine ranging from two thousand New Turkish Liras to ten thousand New Turkish Liras shall be imposed by the Presidency on any content, location or access provider that does not fulfill the obligation specified in the above paragraph.

             Liability of the content provider

             ARTICLE 4 – (1) The content provider is responsible for any content it makes available on the internet.

             (2) The content provider is not responsible for the content of others to which it links. However, if it is clear from the way of presentation that it adopts the content to which it links and aims for the user to access the content in question, it is responsible in accordance with the general provisions.

             Obligations of the hosting provider

             ARTICLE 5 – (1) The hosting provider is not obliged to control the content it provides or to investigate whether there is an illegal activity.

             (2) The hosting provider is obliged to remove the illegal content from the publication if it is notified of the illegal content it provides, in accordance with Articles 8 and 9 of this Law, and to the extent technically possible, without prejudice to the provisions regarding criminal liability.

             Obligations of the access provider

             ARTICLE 6 – (1) Access provider;

             a) Blocking access to any unlawful content published by any user, if informed in accordance with the provisions of this Law and to the extent that it is technically possible to block it,

             b) To keep the traffic information specified in the regulation regarding the services it provides for a period of time to be determined in the regulation, not less than six months and not more than two years, and to ensure the accuracy, integrity and confidentiality of this information,

             c) To notify the Authority, its content providers and customers of the situation at least three months before the date on which it will cease its activities, and to deliver the records regarding traffic information to the Authority in accordance with the principles and procedures specified in the regulation,

             liable.

             (2) The access provider is not obliged to check whether the contents of the information accessed through it are unlawful and require liability.

             (3) An administrative fine ranging from ten thousand New Turkish Liras to fifty thousand New Turkish Liras shall be imposed by the Presidency on any access provider that does not fulfill one of the obligations in clauses (b) and (c) of the first paragraph.

             Obligations of public use providers

             ARTICLE 7 – (1) Public use providers for commercial purposes are obliged to obtain a permit from the local civil authority. Information regarding the permit is notified to the Institution by the local civil authority within thirty days. Their supervision is carried out by local civil authorities. The principles and procedures regarding the issuance of permits and inspection are regulated by the regulation.

             (2) Regardless of whether it is for commercial purposes or not, all public use providers are obliged to take measures to prevent access to criminal content.

             (3) An administrative fine ranging from three thousand New Turkish Liras to fifteen thousand New Turkish Liras shall be imposed by the local civil authority on any person who acts contrary to the obligation specified in the first paragraph.

             Decision to block access and its implementation

             ARTICLE 8 – (1) It is decided to block access regarding publications made on the Internet whose contents have sufficient grounds for suspicion that they constitute the following crimes:

             a) Included in the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 dated 26/9/2004;

             1) Directing to suicide (article 84),

             2) Sexual abuse of children (article 103, first paragraph),

             3) Facilitating the use of narcotic or stimulant substances (article 190),

             4) Supply of substances hazardous to health (article 194),

             5) Obscenity (article 226),

             6) Prostitution (article 227),

             7) Providing a place and opportunity for gambling (article 228),

             crimes.

             b) Crimes included in the Law on Crimes Committed Against Atatürk No. 5816 dated 25/7/1951.

             (2) The decision to block access is made by the judge during the investigation phase and by the court during the prosecution phase. During the investigation phase, in cases where delay is harmful, the public prosecutor may also decide to block access. In this case, the public prosecutor submits his decision to the judge for approval within twenty-four hours, and the judge gives his decision within twenty-four hours at the latest. If the decision is not approved within this period, the measure is immediately lifted by the public prosecutor. The decision to block access given as a protective measure can be objected to in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271 dated 4/12/2004.

             (3) A copy of the access blocking decision given by the judge, court or public prosecutor is sent to the Presidency for necessary action.

             (4) If the content or hosting provider of the publications whose content constitutes the crimes specified in the first paragraph is located abroad, or even if the content or hosting provider is located in the country, the decision to block access is made ex officio by the Presidency regarding the publications whose contents constitute the crimes specified in subparagraphs (2) and (5) of paragraph (a) of the first paragraph. This decision is notified to the access provider and required to be fulfilled.

             (5) The decision to block access shall be fulfilled immediately and at the latest within twenty-four hours from the moment the decision is notified.

             (6) If the identities of those who made the broadcast that are the subject of the access blocking decision given by the Presidency are determined, the Presidency will file a criminal complaint with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

             (7) If, as a result of the investigation, it is decided that there is no need for prosecution, the decision to block access automatically becomes null and void. In this case, the public prosecutor sends a copy of the decision not to prosecute to the Presidency.

             (8) If a decision of acquittal is given during the prosecution phase, the decision to block access automatically becomes null and void. In this case, a copy of the court's acquittal decision is sent to the Presidency.

             (9) In case the content that constitutes the crimes listed in the first paragraph is removed from publication; The decision to block access is lifted by the public prosecutor during the investigation phase and by the court during the prosecution phase.

             (10) Those responsible for hosting or access providers who do not comply with the decision to block access given as a protective measure are punished with imprisonment from six months to two years, unless the act constitutes another crime requiring a more severe penalty.

             (11) If the decision to block access given as an administrative measure is not implemented, the Presidency imposes an administrative fine of from ten thousand New Turkish Liras to one hundred thousand New Turkish Liras on the access provider. If the decision is not fulfilled within twenty-four hours from the moment the administrative fine is imposed, the Authority may decide to cancel the authorization upon the request of the Presidency.

             (12) Legal remedies may be taken against the decisions regarding administrative fines imposed by the Presidency or the Institution due to misdemeanors defined in this Law, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 dated 6/1/1982.

             Removal of content from publication and right of reply

             ARTICLE 9 – (1) The person who claims that his rights have been violated due to the content may contact the content provider, or if he cannot reach this, the hosting provider, and request that the content related to him be removed from publication and that the answer he has prepared, not exceeding the scope of the publication, be published on the internet for one week. The content or hosting provider fulfills the request within two days from the date it is received. If the request is not fulfilled within this period, it is deemed rejected.

             (2) If the request is deemed rejected, the person may apply to the criminal court of peace of the settlement within fifteen days and request a decision to remove the content from publication and to publish the answer he/she has prepared on the internet for a period of one week, not exceeding the scope of the publication. The criminal judge of peace decides on this request within three days without holding a hearing. An objection may be filed against the decision of the criminal judge of peace in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

             (3) Within two days from the notification of the final decision of the criminal judge of peace to the content or hosting provider that does not comply with the application made in accordance with the first paragraph, the content will be removed from publication and the prepared response will be published.

             (4) The responsible person who does not fulfill the decision of the criminal judge of peace in accordance with the conditions and within the time specified in this article is punished with imprisonment from six months to two years. If the content or hosting provider is a legal person, the provision of this paragraph shall apply to the broadcaster.

             Administrative structure and duties

             ARTICLE 10 – (1) Duties assigned by law are carried out by the Presidency within the Institution.

             (2) The positions in the list attached to this Law have been created and added to the list numbered (II) annexed to the Radio Law No. 2813 dated 5/4/1983 to be used in the services of the Presidency. Provisions regarding financial, social rights and benefits applicable to communication experts within the Presidency and Telecommunication Experts working in the Institution apply. Without prejudice to the rights of the personnel appointed to the Presidency as Communication Experts, the career system will be regulated by the regulation to be issued within six months from the date of entry into force of the Law.

             (3) All purchases of goods or services to be made in relation to the duties assigned to the Presidency by Law, except for penalties and prohibitions from tenders, shall be covered from the Institution's budget without being subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Law No. 4734 dated 4/1/2002 and the Public Procurement Contracts Law No. 4735 dated 5/1/2002.

             (4) Without prejudice to other powers and duties granted by law, the duties and powers of the Presidency within the scope of this Law are as follows:

             a) To carry out studies to prevent activities and publications on the internet with content that constitute crimes within the scope of this Law by establishing coordination between the Ministry, law enforcement forces, relevant public institutions and organizations, content, hosting and access providers and relevant non-governmental organizations, and for this purpose, when necessary, to establish working committees, all expenses of which will be covered by the Institution within the principles and procedures to be determined by the regulation.

             b) By monitoring the contents of publications made on the Internet, and in case it is determined that crimes within the scope of this Law have been committed, to take the necessary measures stipulated in this Law to prevent access to these publications.

             c) To determine the level, time and manner in which the contents of broadcasts made on the Internet will be monitored.

             d) To determine the principles and procedures for the systems to be used and the regulations to be made in filtering and blocking the authorization of operators by the Authority and the permits to be given by local authorities to public use providers for commercial purposes.

             d) To establish or cause to be established, to operate or ensure the operation of all necessary technical infrastructure, including monitoring and information reporting center, in order to prevent the commission of the crimes listed in the first paragraph of Article 8 of this Law by monitoring the publications on the internet.

             e) To determine the minimum criteria for the production of hardware or software in accordance with the principles of filtering, screening and monitoring in various publicly available services on the Internet.

             f) To ensure cooperation and coordination with international institutions and organizations in the field of informatics and internet.

             g) To provide all necessary assistance and coordination within the technical means to the authorized and authorized law enforcement forces and investigation authorities to prevent the promotion, importation into the country, possession, rental or sale of products containing all kinds of representative images, texts or sounds regarding the commission of the crimes listed in the first paragraph of Article 8 of this Law on the internet.

             (5) Presidency; In accordance with the additional article 1 of the Law No. 3348 on the Organization and Duties of the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry ensures the necessary cooperation and coordination with the Internet Board, which will be established with the participation of a representative to be selected from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Ministry responsible for children, women and family, the Institution and other needed ministries, public institutions and organizations, internet service providers and relevant non-governmental organizations; This Board takes all necessary measures or decisions regarding the detection of broadcasts containing content to be monitored, filtered and blocked, and suggestions to be made on similar matters.

             Regulations

             ARTICLE 11 – (1) The principles and procedures regarding the implementation of this Law are regulated by the regulations to be issued by the Prime Ministry, taking into account the opinions of the ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs and Transport. These regulations are issued within four months from the date of entry into force of the Law.

             (2) The principles and procedures regarding the issuance of authorization certificates to persons who wish to perform activities as a location or access provider, regardless of whether they have an authorization certificate for communication via telecommunications, to perform activities as a location or access provider shall be regulated by the regulation to be issued by the Authority. This regulation is issued within five months from the date of entry into force of the Law.

             Changes made in relevant laws

             ARTICLE 12 – (1) The following sentence has been added to paragraph (f) of the 2nd article of the Telegraph and Telephone Law No. 406 dated 4/2/1924.

             "A legal remedy may be taken against the decisions regarding these administrative fines, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 dated 6/1/1982."

             (2) The phrase "related to communication via telecommunications" has been added after the phrase "specified" in the first sentence of the tenth paragraph of the additional article 7 of the Law on Police Duties and Powers No. 2559 dated 4/7/1934, and the second sentence says "This Presidency consists of a president and department heads." It has been changed to .

             (3) The following paragraph has been added to Article 5 of the Radio Law No. 2813 dated 5/4/1983.

             "Within the framework of the principles and procedures to be determined by the Board, attorney contracts can be concluded with freelance lawyers or attorney partnerships through the direct procurement method specified in Article 22 of the Public Procurement Law No. 4734 dated 4/1/2002."

             (4) The last sentence of the second paragraph of the 6th article of the State Intelligence Services and National Intelligence Organization Law No. 2937 dated 1/11/1983 is "subparagraph (14) of the sixth paragraph of the 135th article of the Criminal Procedure Law No. 5271 dated 4/12/2004" "Eavesdropping within the scope of this clause is also carried out through this center." changed to; The phrase "detection of espionage activities and" has been added after the phrase "However" in the fourth paragraph; The phrase "This article" in the third sentence of the sixth paragraph has been changed to "This paragraph".

             PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 1 –(1) The construction of the Presidency's service building in the establishment shall be covered from the Institution's budget, without being subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Law and the Public Procurement Contracts Law, except for penalties and prohibitions from tenders.

             (2) Public use providers for commercial purposes currently operating are obliged to obtain the permit required to be obtained in accordance with Article 7 within six months from the date of entry into force of this Law.

             (3) An authorization certificate is issued by the Authority to persons who currently operate as hosting or access providers, in order to operate as hosting or access providers, regardless of whether they have an authorization certificate for communication via telecommunications.

             Effectiveness

             ARTICLE 13 – (1) Of this Law;

             a) Articles 3 and 8, six months after the date of publication,

             b) Other articles on the date of publication,

             comes into force.

             Execution

             ARTICLE 14 – (1) The provisions of this Law shall be enforced by the Council of Ministers.