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#New Internet law in Turkey sparks outrage - Al Jazeera English

Controversial web controls implemented after phone-recording leaks raise questions and stoke public anger.

Street protests and anti-censorship campaigns have been launched to oppose Turkey's internet law [AFP]

Turkey's new law tightening the state's grip on the Internet has gone into force after President Abdullah Gul approved the controversial legislation pushed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

The legislation changes Turkey's original 2007 Internet law, and has sparked street protests  and various public campaigns against the new online controls.

The conservative government has rejected claims that the law will lead to censorship, arguing instead that it aims at protecting individual rights and privacy.  "There is no censorship on the Internet. Freedoms are not restricted. We are only taking precautions against blackmail and immorality," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan  recently said.

"If the Internet and computers are not used in a proper way under certain monitoring and order, they do not constitute beneficial or educational tools anymore. Instead, they turn into dangers with bitter results."

Last year's  Gezi Park protests  against the Turkish government were largely organised through social media, which Erdogan at the time called " the worst menace to society ".

#UnFollowAbdullahGul

A Twitter campaign - #UnFollowAbdullahGul  - was launched after Turkey's tech-savvy president approved the proposed Internet bill, despite his expressed concerns. His follower count dropped by more than 100,000 in two days last week.

In another campaign named #4Saat ("four hours" in Turkish), liberal newspaper Radikal started self-censoring  various news stories on its website every four hours - the time needed to block a URL under the new administrative process - to protest against the legislation.