A requirement by Turkey’s media regulator for journalists on YouTube to have a broadcast license is being criticized as a way for authorities to more easily censor content.
In a TV interview earlier this month, Ebubekir Sahin, the head of Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council, or RTUK, said that a 2019 regulation means that all broadcasts, including those on the internet, “are under our supervision.”
The 2019 regulation authorized RTUK to request broadcast licenses from "media service providers," including media outlets and digital streaming platforms such as Netflix. But so far, the regulation has not been enforced for journalists who run their own YouTube channels.
Sahin said in his interview, however, that the RTUK had met with YouTube’s Turkey office last month about the licensing requirement.
Several journalists and media advocates view the move as censorship.
“The initiative seems to aim to eradicate the original news and commentary on YouTube,” said Erol Onderoglu of Reporters Without Borders, or RSF. He added that the regulation could open the door to arbitrariness and censorship in Turkey.
Blocked sites
Access to the websites of VOA Turkish and German international public broadcaster Deutsche Welle have already been blocked in Turkey over not obtaining broadcast licenses from the regulator.
To justify the decision, Sahin said that journalists who quit mainstream media and produce content on YouTube make unfair profit through commercials and their subscribers.
“[A journalist] does not get along well with a TV channel and leaves. He goes and opens a [YouTube] channel where he broadcasts news from morning to night. He also gets huge commercials behind him. The accuracy of those commercials has not been checked, and they have not been approved by the Competition Board,” Sahin said.
Sahin noted that several journalists who broadcast their own shows on YouTube have obtained licenses. But he did not disclose their names.
The RTUK head said that the regulator would issue a broadcast license for 10 years and for an affordable price, but did not provide details.
According to RTUK’s website, a broadcast license for TV or on-demand broadcasting on the internet costs approximately $18,970.
VOA’s attempts to get comment from RTUK were unsuccessful. In response to an email request for comment, RTUK directed VOA to fill out a form providing personal information such as address and identity card number.
Gaining popularity
News broadcasts via YouTube are gaining traction in Turkey, according to the June Reuters Institute’s Digital News report, with YouTube the most popular social media platform for accessing or sharing news.
“Over the last decade, a number of famous journalists have gained popularity by carving out a niche on platforms such as YouTube, with less oversight or interference from the government,” the report said.
The report also pointed out a “long-standing media censorship climate in Turkey” which it said affects “freedom of discussion and debate in social media and video networks.”
“If the authorities leave the watchdog role of journalists’ news and commentary-focused activities on YouTube to the censorship-oriented RTUK, this international online medium will be no different from any TV channel in Turkey that suffers from censorship,” Onderoglu told VOA.
That censorship has prompted several journalists to look for alternative places to broadcast independent or opposition views.
Unsal Unlu, who used to work for state-run TRT and privately owned stations NTV and HaberTurk, has been broadcasting on YouTube for nine years with the motto of “free journalism without patronage.”
Unlu believes the regulator’s move to include YouTube broadcasts is aimed at furthering control over the media environment.
“Sahin wants to imply an authority to control as he wishes. What is the reason? Because they cannot control social media,” Unlu told VOA. “Now they are trying to point the finger at YouTube broadcasters and create anxiety, perhaps even fear.”
Problematic requirement
Unlu, who has 163,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, said that he would not apply for a license.
Ozlem Gurses, who hosted prime-time programs on several TV channels like ATV, HaberTurk, SkyTurk and Halk TV for nearly 30 years, opened her own YouTube channel four years ago.
Gurses runs a channel with more than 530,000 followers on YouTube. She uses it to upload live daily broadcasts and commentary about the news.
She told VOA the broadcast license requirement for journalists would be difficult.
“It goes against the spirit of the times. They closed Instagram and lost votes. Because their own voters are there. The pious voters are reacting to these censorship and blocking efforts,” Gurses told VOA.
“There is no regulation for this. The regulation referred to does not provide a definition for YouTube broadcasting. How will you determine the limits? Will it be the number of views, the number of subscribers, the income? Everything is uncertain,” Gurses said.
Like Unlu, Gurses said she did not plan to apply for a license.
This article originated in VOA’s Turkish Service.
