Blogs ‘fake ban’ themselves in Turkey in protest against Internet censorship

I do not think that shutting down blogging – temporarily fake self-banning - as a form of protest would have any effect. Quite the contrary, those who behind Internet censorship in Turkey would be pretty pleased with this and would prefer this fake self-ban become permanent. Anyway, here is what TechChrunch reported on the matter: “Web Censorship Is So Bad in Turkey That Blogs Are Shutting Themselves Down In Protest”. Nearly 200 Turkish blogs signed up for the protest which will last till Wednesday. "The point is to show Turkish Web surfers what the Internet would look like if the censorship continues unabated."

It doesn’t take much to get your Website banned in Turkey. Pretty much any complaint to a lower court can get a Website blocked in the country. Websites including YouTube, DailyMotion, Alibaba, Slide.com, and some Wordpress blogs have all been banned, usually because of some purported slight to the Turkish government or Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. (The Youtube ban was the result of a sophomoric video claiming Ataturk was gay).

The problem has gotten so bad that Turkish blogs are now banning themselves in protest. The fake bans started with Firat Yildiz, who put this message up on his blog:

Bu siteye erişim kendi kararıyla engellenmiştir

which roughly translates to:

The access to this web site is prevented by its owner’s free will.