January 26, 2015
ANKARA - A Turkish court has ordered Facebook to block a number of pages deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad, threatening to stop access to the whole social networking site if it does not comply, state broadcaster TRT reported.
The order, made by the court on Sunday, followed a request by a prosecutor, TRT said. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday that Facebook had blocked one page in response to a valid legal request from Turkish authorities.
The court order is the latest move to crack down on material seen as offending religious sensibilities in the largely Muslim nation, where the government of President Tayyip Erdogan is widely seen as pursuing an Islamist-leaning agenda.
Earlier this month, prosecutors launched an inquiry into a newspaper that reprinted parts of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in the wake of an attack by Islamic militants on its offices in Paris.
