Türkiye restricts Discord access over child safety concerns, crime issues

ANKARA

Türkiye restricted access to the popular messaging platform Discord early Wednesday, citing ongoing discussions about the platform's role in online crimes involving minors. 

In a statement, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that access to Discord from Türkiye has been restricted due to sufficient suspicion of crimes like "child sexual abuse and obscenity."

The move follows the shocking murder of two women in Istanbul last week, which sparked public outrage, particularly after offensive discussions and activities related to femicides surfaced on the platform.

In-depth investigations have revealed a range of criminal activities conducted by harmful groups on Discord, including "personal data theft, blackmailing children, harassment, credit card theft, animal torture, and pedophilia."

The public outcry has been worsened by the circulation of videos and messages online that show minors being blackmailed into committing self-harm or providing money.

The Discord debate echoes a similar case from earlier this year, when Turkish authorities blocked access to Roblox, a popular gaming platform for children and teenagers, following allegations of child abuse and grooming.

Prior to the access ban, Tunç issued a content warning to social media and network providers. He reminded that judicial investigations have been initiated by Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices concerning criminal content on certain social network providers and websites.

Tunç emphasized that network providers and websites that fail to comply with judicial decisions and remove the specified content will face strict enforcement of sanctions such as fines, advertising bans, bandwidth reduction, and access blocking.

Highlighting Türkiye's status as a state of law, Tunç asserted, “Social network providers and websites operating in our country and having millions of users must adhere to the laws and rules of the Republic of Türkiye. No one has any privileges.”

He further stated that any attempts to harm young people and children will not be tolerated, adding, “We will never compromise our determination in the fight against crime and criminals.”

Discord is a widely-used voice, video, and text chat app with tens of millions of users. As of December 2020, it boasted more than 300 million registered users and 140 million monthly active users. Discord is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and web browsers, allowing users to create voice, text, or stage channels for more organized communication among large server communities.