Twitter 'hoping full access will return soon' after Ankara talks

ISTANBUL

Twitter has taken action against the Turkish government’s ban on accessing to and hired a lawyer expert in cyber law, who met with government authorities on March 21. REUTERS photo

Twitter has expressed hope that full access to the website will be returned soon, after a lawyer representing the microblogging platform met with Turkish authorities in Ankara on March 21.

"We stand with our users in Turkey who rely on Twitter as a vital communications platform. We hope to have full access returned soon," the company tweeted via its own account in Turkish and English.

The closed-door meeting in Ankara was reportedly the scene of some tough bargaining and little has been disclosed about the content yet.

Twitter has taken action against the government’s ban on access, hiring a lawyer expert in cyber law.

Lawyer Gönenç Gürkaynak has confirmed that he was set to meet officials from Turkey’s Telecommunications Authority (TİB) in Ankara on behalf of Twitter, adding that discussions for finding a legal solution were ongoing. In the past, Gürkaynak had worked on the legal case against the ban on YouTube.

He left the TİB headquarters at 4:00 p.m. local time without making any public statement.

A government minister stressed that Twitter should get a permanent legal representative and "enhance its cooperation" with the Turkish authorities.
Industry Minister Fikri Işık said the microblogging website should agree to block individual accounts if it wants to resolve the row.

Social media is rife with rumors that the authorities have demanded that Twitter remove certain accounts and disclose the identities of dissidents, including the online leakers of the wiretapped recordings allegedly proving widespread corruption.