back to article Turkey bans Google Books, Google Docs, Google Translate...

Turkey has banned multiple Google services, according to reports, including Google Translate, Google Docs, and Google Books. But Mountain View believes the ban is accidental, a side effect of Turkey's longstanding ban on the Google-owned YouTube. According to the International Business Times, Turkey’s Telecommunications …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Why Does Anybody Care About Asia ?

    They have a different concept of freedom and we should simply accept that. The freedom of a man to beat up wife and kids as he sees fit, for example.

    The turkish president Erdogan himself forces his wife under the headscarf, just for starters.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Black Helicopters

      rotten apple

      Just because there's a rotten apple in a basket doesn't mean all the apples in it are bad.

      1. FailedTrolleyStacker

        re: rotten apple

        Not necessarily the best analogy, since the one rotten apple will make the others go bad quicker...

    2. Rob Burke

      Sigh

      It's like reading the comments on Sky News or the Daily Mail...

    3. moonface
      Megaphone

      I Care!!!

      I care about this particular Asian country, as they could potentially join the EU. So future Turkish MEP's could in their political nannying way's end up caring for me!!!

      On a side note. It would be wrong, but amusing if devious Greek hacker's could create a Trojan that redirected Turkish home pages to the Kemal Atatürk was gay website. God, this feud has been going on for time Immemorable!

      1. jazzaxx

        as they could potentially join the EU

        not with this government dude, not with this government. besides, things are much more complex than they appear, some people are sligthly aware on the things going on international politicswise. some big dudes just want the current government to do keep on with their job, the usual midlle east thing. oh well.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      Be honest now,

      by "Asia" you really meant "muslims" didn't you?

      1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

        Re: Be honest now,

        As before, folks, please try not to descend into anarchy. I'm just one guy. You must help me out. Thanks.

        1. Steven Knox
          Joke

          Shocker!

          Sarah Bee: "I'm just one guy..."

          Cue thousands of Reg commentards rushing, crying, to the showers...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Stop

        Asia, Muslims

        I have to admit that I feel much more sympathetic towards Buddhists than Muslims, because the first religion does not prescribe all sorts of lethal and non-lethal violence (for lots of reasons).

        Still, all of Asia is full of authoritarianism or at least horrible injustice and corruption. That is something I don't like and that is why Turkey must never become a member of the European Union.

        Especially the catholic world in south America has its own share of huge problems, so Christianity is not the definiton of "free and proper civilization", but Europe and the U.S. come closest to that aim. Certainly we must distrust the Political Correct Brigade in their attempt to whitewash the (semi-)Tyrants of the Muslim and Asian world.

  2. pan2008
    Thumb Down

    Jlocke

    Jlocke you should be ashamed of yourself, very cheap way to attack turkey.

  3. stupormundi
    Troll

    Retaliation likely

    Was Kemal Ataturk straight? Ok, ok, just asking...

    Anyways, Google could easily retaliate by banning Turkey from their famous cafeteria.

    1. Mark Jonson
      Thumb Up

      Banning Turkey From Cafeteria

      WIN!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    The REAL reason...

    << snip>>

    Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Turkey’s communications minister has called on Google to register as a taxpayer in the country, saying this would hasten a move towards lifting the YouTube ban. “The company should open a representation,” Transport and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Tuesday. “YouTube is a taxpayer in 20 countries, and we want them to do the same in Turkey.”

    <<end snip>>

    Now the real reason for blocking YouTube and Google is out... it's ALL about money... YouTube has money, or at least Google does, and the Turkish government wants some of it... LOTS of it...

    AC, even though I never plan to go to Turkey...

  5. Winkypop Silver badge
    FAIL

    Mix religious fundies with oppresive regimes....

    ....and you get great steaming lumps of fail.

    When, oh when, will the human race finally throw off this 'god' crap?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      What...

      .. does this story have to do with religion and gods ??

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Megaphone

      'This god crap'

      There is increasing evidence that 'this god crap' is an integral part of the human psyche so I wouldn't advise you to hold your breath. It always make me smile when otherwise intelligent people (I'm looking at you Dawkins) think they can browbeat the faithful into apostasy just by heaping facts on them. It doesn't work - and, incidentally, getting rid of all religion would not cure all the world's ills becaue you would still have, for instance, very greedy people who are prepared to rape whole economies for their own benefit.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Getting rid of religion

        Greedy Bankers has nothing to do with religion.

        You are right about not curing all the world's ills by getting rid of religion.

        But there would be a lot less fighting going on. One religious sect hell bent on wiping out the others.

        Only thing that will be left to fight over is Earth's natural resources, especially the greatest sin of all, Oil.

        1. John Mangan

          I doubt it

          "But there would be a lot less fighting going on. One religious sect hell bent on wiping out the others"

          People have never been short of excuses for fighting; religion is one, so is oil as you pointed out but then there's water (likely to be increasingly common), nationalism, racism, historic injustices, etc., etc. etc.

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

    3. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Appropriate

      comment, since Ataturk (not his real name) was the great seculariser of Turkey. You sir fail your history test.

  6. Steve Roper
    Grenade

    Turkey want Google to set up servers there

    most likely because they want jurisdiction to prosecute the shit out of them the moment Google returns a search result for Ataturk being gay or whatever. Massive fines to fill the Turkish government coffers would surely follow. So I'd say Google are too smart to open up there, both because of that and because they recently got their bums burned in China from problems with censorship... but nice try, Turkey!

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Stupid case

    It's a case of legislation being behind (way behind) current times. Jlocke's ignorance can easily be forgiven, while the Turkish Telecommunications Whatnot Authority's cannot.

    Turkish people are quite vocal (online and in the real world) about the ludicrosity of the relevant law. Public pressure on the government on this issue is quite high. I personally deem it good that it gets such a negative coverage here too.

    Btw, Google is/has a local company in Turkey (which is in G20), reaping good ad money, selling services, paying taxes. It'd pull out long after it has pulled out of, say, China (which I believe is serious about the filtering thing, unlike Turkish authorities).

    The youtube ban is stupid and easily circumvented. This new blockage is a by-product of Google having switched ip addresses or somesuch of said services. It's just a ban that should not have been there in the first place, that's all. The "Kemal Ataturk" law is an old one, and a touchy subject at that. It is difficult to repeal just because of a youtube ban. Thus the ban has been able to last for so long. It's all connected, you see.

    Grenade, because it is about politics, not about actual censorship. At least not for youtube, or google translate, or google docs.

    1. jazzaxx

      turkish people are highly vocal

      in the online platforms, hell yeah, we are. but being vocal in the internet where the most popular websites keep getting banned is just like a fart in sahara and hardly anyone considers getting their back on the streets for some nifty protest.

  8. Steve Brooks

    taxpayer?

    Yes...become a taxpayer in our country, and next time you post horrible things about or glorious founder on your evil video site we will arrest all your employees and tort......oops sorry.....interogate them until they confess.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Touchy

    Getting that touchy about a founding father/religious figure is just setting yourself up for embarrassment every time someone wants to have a laugh at your expense. Supposedly it's a rite of passage for Kurdish youth to plant a steaming turd on the head of one of the Ataturk statues that exist in just about every Turkish town, as a gesture of resistance. Between the overprotection of Ataturk and the shrill denial of the well-documented and reported Armenian Holocaust, the Turks are on a hiding to nothing.

    The saddest thing is that, flaws aside, Ataturk did the Turks a huge favour by dragging them kicking and screaming into the 20th century and scarcely needs protecting from playground insults by force of law.

  10. John Riddoch

    All about money...

    "Turkey’s communications minister has called on Google to register as a taxpayer in the country, saying this would hasten a move towards lifting the YouTube ban" - translation - "start paying us some taxes and we'll unblock Youtube".

    Also of note, "Reporters Without Boarders" - does this mean that no-one's boarded their ship or that they don't have anyone living with them?

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Coat

      Re: "Reporters Without Boarders"

      Obviously they exist to protest about people who go around boarding things up.

      Even virtually.......

    2. stupormundi
      Headmaster

      ...living with them?

      The latter, but ESPECIALLY no skaters.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Ignorants

    ...are people ignoring facts, according to the common definition.

    So I think those who ignore the truth about Turkey are ignorants. The truth is that this country is slowly sliding back into old Asian/Islamic habits of authoritarianism and religious backwardness.

    Talk to the average turk about things like "painting funny pictures of Mohammed" or "insulting Atatürk" and you will find out that they have not the slightest understanding of the concept of Free Speech. And no such thing as the Rule Of Law and Due Process during such events.

    Deep down, the average turk expects the government to be an autocratic ruler like the Pasha was, at least when the average turk is offended.

    Certainly they also have large problems of corruption and all sorts of knee-jerkism, including nationalism.

    Atatürk and the Army tried to drag Turkey into Europe, but you can't force people to accept freedom and enlightenment. They must feel the need themselves.

    Islamist Erdogan scored a major victory over the Army recently and this means this country will properly integrate itself into the Islamic (ie authoritarian) world again.

  12. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

    My mother was Church of Scotland and she wore a headscarf.

    Good idea if you've had your hair done and it's windy.

    Greece INVENTED gay, I thought? Socrates, Plato, and all those fellows?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      Headscarves, gays

      I am sure your mother was allowed to remove the headscarf when being inside a house or restaurant etc. Mr Erdogan's wife is expected to be a devout muslim woman who will remove the headscarf only in the family house. It would probably "insult the honor of the family" if she did otherwise. And that is a lethal offense, practically speaking.

      That the greek "invented" homosexuality proves what ? This whole issue is about authoritarianism and other un-enlightened behaviour of the turkish society and government. It is not about petty insults, but about the acceptance of free speech (and that includes insults against public figures). Or rather the non-acceptance of that in Turkey.

      And it is about the Rule Of Law versus arbitrary government decisions to crush a business, a service and free speech in general.

  13. ravenviz Silver badge
    Joke

    Stop spliff smoking

    Easy: ban lighters

  14. Justin Clements

    Just remember.....

    When people get on about internet numbers being run by an international body that includes submissions by Turkey, China, Pakistan and all the other countries that have banned websites - just remember that the internet is on a path to be censored.

    So when the US says "get stuffed, internet numbers authority stays with the US" just think about this article.

    (And i'm not a yank before anyone accuses me of that).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Stop

      UN Human Rights Council

      ...is even worse. It is currently dominated by Muslim countries and they call the fun around the violent prophet "racism". Apparently, Islam is a "race".

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    And this is why cloud computing is a disaster waiting to happen

    Your entire business, wiped out by some civil servant's accidental (or not so accidental) press of a button.

    Noooooo thanks.

  16. mark l 2 Silver badge

    ban on youtube

    from last i heard google were still struggling to actual make money from youtube, so its doubtful they would start paying taxes in turkey just to get it unblocked as they would probably find that the money they made from having youtube available was less than they were paying in taxes.

  17. jazzaxx
    Thumb Up

    jlocke for president

    @jlocke: w0rd. i'm from turkey and i agree with every tiny bit of your statement. couldn't sum up the whole thing better myself. you seem to know the mainstream supporter of the gov around here even better than themselves man.

  18. ortunk
    Megaphone

    Google and Turkey's Telekom Authority Have Reached an Agreement

    But on what. No vdetails yet. I only received from an ISP a mail telling me that Google and Turkey's Telekom Authority have reached an agreement and IP ban has been lifted. No more uncensored google for us that figures.

    It is not only google or youtube actually, there are many web sites or domains under blockage in Turkey. www.tib.gov.tr informs that in 2009 34,000 unique sites were reported in abuse of the Internet Law.

    There is no list of banned sites available, and cannot be obtained via the Information Rights Act, we tried and were declined by a loophole in the law.

    So they have reached an agreement, and we would like to know what!

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