Websites to be included in Press Law

The government is drafting a law that will add Internet news sites to the list of media covered by the Press Law, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said Nov. 5. If the intensive budget debates in Parliament allow, the government plans to pass the bill from Parliament by January, he stated.

“The draft law is being prepared with Internet media associations, and we get their consent on the issue of regulations,” Arınç said, adding that there was not much negative criticism on the draft law. Staff of Internet news sites would have press cards, Arınç said.

He said it was not possible to include other branches of social media into this law and blanket clauses would apply to them. According to the draft, news portals must keep a one-year cache of their publications to be delivered to authorities if necessary.

The site manager will be responsible for publishing retractions, to be accessible for one week on the website’s main page.