Regulations on fight against cyber crime, no restrictions on social media, Turkish minister says

ISTANBUL

Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım said crime was crime in any place, including in social media, adding that they are not planning any restrictions on social media. AA Photo

There is no work on regulating social media but rather on fighting cyber crime, Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım has said.

“Murdering someone on the street has a penalty. If you encourage someone to kill someone via social media, this has a penalty as well,” Yıldırım told reporters today.

Yıldırım said crime was crime in any place, including in social media, adding that they are not planning any restrictions on social media.

“Social media is new in our lives so some issues might not be described in law. We may add the issues that entered our lives with social media to the laws,” said Yıldırım. He also said international cooperation was a must for fighting against cyber crime. He also said they would never allow intervention in private life.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said people were free to communicate via social media, but if it were used for encouraging crime and violence and increasing these incidents – referring to the Gezi Park protests – then there should be deterrent measures.