Parliamentary Digital Channels Commission to convene on Instagram agenda

Chairman of the Parliamentary Digital Channels Commission and AKP Hatay Deputy Hüseyin Yayman said, "The Parliamentary Digital Channels Commission will convene with an 'Instagram' agenda either within this week or at the beginning of next week."

In his assessment, Hüseyin Yayman made statements regarding the access ban imposed on Instagram.

Providing information that negotiations are ongoing, Yayman said the following:

'Statements like 'Instagram opened today' or 'Instagram is opening at this hour' only raise expectations further. It causes the parties to enter into a different psychology. If Instagram is to be opened immediately, why should it act in a way that complies with the demands of the Republic of Turkey? A negotiation is being conducted. A 'digital diplomacy' is being carried out. By its nature, this digital diplomacy requires being more result-oriented and addressing this issue away from the screens. I believe that if Instagram and Meta comply with the rules in Turkey, this issue will be resolved much more easily.'

Reminding that they have listened to Meta officials twice in the Parliamentary Digital Channels Commission and expressed their demands regarding the opening of a representative office in Turkey, Yayman stated that they welcomed these demands positively and gave convincing and sincere answers to the deputies' questions.

'ACTUALLY, THE ICEBERG IS IN THE BACKGROUND'

Stating that they also have demands regarding double standards in the upcoming process, Yayman spoke as follows:

"Digital networks are places where everyone should express themselves freely. It is never right for this space to be handled in a different way with certain ideological, religious, and value-laden concepts. In digital networks, especially Meta, we are talking about violence against women, sexual crimes, virtual gambling... We are actually talking about the Ismail Haniyeh issue, but the iceberg is in the background. Sexual content, combating addiction, the spread and promotion of drugs, adolescent bullying, marginalization, hate crimes... Unfortunately, neither Turkey nor the world is talking about these. They are handling the issue from a very different point of view.

Our fundamental approach is this; as a government, we are against censorship and bans. The Republic of Turkey is a state of law. We want all network providers to act in accordance with the law of Turkey. We never want double standards. While on one hand, posts by terrorist organizations and on the other hand, LGBT posts and gender-neutralization are encouraged, it is never right to censor posts made about a person to whom this society attributes value, such as Ismail Haniyeh. We believe that the negotiation should proceed in accordance with its rules."

COMMISSION CONVENING  

Regarding the call for a meeting of the Parliamentary Digital Channels Commission, Yayman noted the following:

"As the commission chairman, I am consulting with our deputies. The Parliamentary Digital Channels Commission will convene as soon as possible, within this week or at the beginning of the week, with an Instagram or digital agenda. Our commission is the commission that meets the most after the Constitutional Commission, the Justice Commission, and the Planning and Budget Commission. We listened to TikTok 4 times. We have listened to other network providers, and we will continue to listen. We believe that these meetings are the most important condition of digital negotiation. We have listened to Meta officials before. If our commission members and deputies say that Meta officials should also come, we will invite them as well. There is no such demand at the moment."