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Today, journalism and press activities are carried out across all platforms on the internet. Internet journalism as a whole is not regulated under a single statute. There are special provisions regarding internet broadcasting and radio under the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) and its duties, regulations under the Press Law regarding internet news sites, and framework provisions applicable to all internet news platforms are set forth in Law No. 5651.
The most crucial point is that, regardless of the platform, journalistic activity is protected under the constitutional freedom of the press. It must be noted that a social media profile or a YouTube channel not entirely dedicated to journalism may be evaluated in the context of freedom of expression rather than freedom of the press.
As a result of the legislative amendments in 2022, internet news sites subject to the Press Law—which can benefit from certain privileges during their journalistic activities pursuant to the law and incur liabilities proportionally—have been separately regulated. Internet news sites unable to benefit from these privileges and held liable under general provisions have continued to exist as ordinary internet platforms pursuant to Law No. 5651.
Fundamental regulations regarding freedom of the press are directly enshrined in the Constitution. Therefore, freedom of the press applies to all internet news platforms, whether or not they operate on the basis of the Press Law.
Pursuant to Article 12 of the Press Law, the owner of a periodical, the responsible manager, and the author cannot be compelled to disclose any kind of news sources, including information and documents, nor can they be compelled to testify in this regard.
According to the law, as a condition of prosecution, lawsuits regarding offenses committed via an internet news site must be filed within four months. This period starts from the date of reporting to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office or other authorized authorities, and it shall under no circumstances exceed the statute of limitations for prosecution stipulated in the Turkish Penal Code (TPC).
As is known, judicial fines are converted first into community service and subsequently into imprisonment if they are not paid. According to the Press Law, however, with the exception of offenses specified in Articles 18 and 22 of the same law, fines adjudicated for offenses envisaged in the law cannot be converted into custodial sentences.
News platforms that meet the conditions set forth in Law No. 195 and the Regulation on Official Announcements and Advertisements, and concurrently hold the status of an internet news site pursuant to the Press Law, have the right to receive official announcements and advertisements.
Journalists working at internet news sites that hold the status of an internet news site under the Press Law and are considered periodicals also have the right to obtain a press card, provided they meet the relevant conditions.
Article 8 of the Press Law regulates that for those who fail to submit a declaration and therefore do not hold the status of an "internet news site" pursuant to the relevant law, "privileges and rights shall be eliminated, but sanctions envisaged under the law and relevant legislation may be applied." However, in accordance with the principles of legality and determinacy, this should not be the case. Indeed, the same article states that those who fail to submit their declarations duly "shall not hold the status of an internet news site." Therefore, I believe it would not be correct for the law to apply a penal sanction to a platform—which it declares does not possess the status of an internet news site—by asserting, "No, you are an internet news site." Accordingly, I would like to point out that at this juncture, the liability of news platforms that fail to submit their declarations duly should be governed by general provisions and Law No. 5651.[1]
Whether or not they hold the status of an internet news site under the Press Law, the fundamental obligations arising from Law No. 5651 for all internet news platforms are: operating the notice-and-takedown system, providing information within the framework of legislation in response to official requests, and removing content likewise within the framework of legislation. If such a platform also hosts its own data on its own servers, it shall be deemed a hosting provider and will consequently be required to comply with obligations directed at hosting providers, such as log retention.
With respect to offenses committed via internet news sites, the regulations of the Press Law are, in my opinion, contrary to the constitutional principle of personal criminal liability. According to the law, the author—namely the media member who organizes or records the content—is directly liable for the offenses committed. However, the law paves the way for collective liability by stipulating: "In cases where the author is unidentified, lacks criminal capacity at the time of publication, cannot be tried in Turkey due to being abroad, or where the penalty to be imposed does not affect the sentence for which the author has already been finally convicted for another offense, the authorized person to whom the responsible manager is subordinate, such as the responsible manager, publisher, editor-in-chief, editor, or press consultant, shall be liable." Although the continuation of the article states, "however, if this content is published despite the objection of the responsible manager and the authorized person to whom the responsible manager is subordinate, the liability arising therefrom shall rest with the person who caused the publication," this regulation does not resolve the issue of unconstitutionality.
Article 13 of the Press Law contains regulations concerning civil liability. Pursuant to the relevant regulations, the author, the publisher, and the representative (if any) are jointly and severally liable for material and moral damages arising from acts committed through internet news sites. This provision also applies to natural or legal persons acting as the publisher, trademark or license holder, lessee, operator, or publisher acting under any capacity. If the legal entity is a corporation, the chairman of the board of directors in joint-stock companies, and the top executive in other companies, shall be jointly and severally liable together with the company.
The ownership information specified in Article 4 of the Press Law, the information of the responsible manager and other concerned parties, contact details, and the name and address of the hosting provider must be published on the homepage of the internet platform. Failure to fulfill this is regulated as an offense under the law.
The date when content is first presented on internet news sites and the dates of subsequent updates must be indicated on the content in such a way that they do not change upon each access. Failure to fulfill this is also an offense.
Platforms wishing to benefit from the privileges brought by the Press Law for internet news sites and officially hold the status of an internet news site are required to submit a declaration containing the necessary particulars to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. If the declaration is not submitted, the relevant platform is not blocked from access; it merely cannot benefit from the relevant privileges.
Content published on internet news sites shall be preserved with guaranteed accuracy and integrity for a period of two years, to be delivered to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office upon request when necessary. It should be noted that the logs required to be kept here are not traffic data, but the published content. Traffic data, on the other hand, are retained by hosting providers pursuant to obligations arising from Law No. 5651.
Pursuant to Article 14 of the Press Law concerning the right of correction and reply, in periodicals including internet news sites, if publications are made that violate individuals' honor and dignity or contain untrue statements regarding individuals, the aggrieved person has the right of correction and reply. If the responsible manager of the internet news site fails to publish notifications meeting the conditions stipulated by the law, the interested party may obtain a ruling to this effect from the criminal judgeship of peace, and failure to comply with the requirements of this ruling is regulated as an offense under the law.
Article 20 of the Press Law contains an offense stating: "Those who publish articles and pictures concerning sexual assault, murder, and suicide incidents that exceed the boundaries of reporting and are capable of encouraging readers to commit such acts shall be punished with a heavy fine from one billion liras up to twenty billion liras."
According to Article 21 of the Press Law, in internet news site contents, it is prohibited to make publications in a manner that discloses or leads to the recognition of the identities of: "(a) persons regarding sexual relations between individuals whose marriage is prohibited pursuant to the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 dated 22.11.2001; (b) victims concerning crimes written in Articles 414, 415, 416, 421, 423, 429, 430, 435, and 436 of the Turkish Penal Code; (c) perpetrators or victims of crime who are under the age of eighteen."
[1] See in the same direction: S. Burcu Ezer, İnternet Haber Sitelerinin Basın Kanunu ve Basın İş Kanunu Kapsamına Eklenmesinin Hüküm ve Sonuçları, YBHD, Year 8 - Issue 2023/2, pp. 458-459
