Bandwidth throttling during the February 6 earthquakes: Court has reached its verdict

During the February 6 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, a "bandwidth throttling" decision was implemented while citizens were still under the rubble. With this decision, the communication links of many citizens trapped under the debris were severed.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) had filed a request for information with the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) regarding the "bandwidth throttling" decision.

Following an insufficient response to their application, the TBB filed a lawsuit in administrative court on July 3, 2023, against the rejection of their objection, which had been based on the claim that the information and documents requested from the BTK fell under "internal institutional regulations." The court found the TBB's lawsuit to be justified.

FOUND JUSTIFIED

The court issued a cancellation decision, stating: ''While access to information is a right for everyone and providing information is a legal obligation for all public institutions and organizations, and while institutions and organizations must consider the exceptions stipulated by law when fulfilling these obligations, it is understood that the plaintiff's request pertains to information or documents that are in the possession of the institution or should be in its possession due to its duties; therefore, it constitutes a request for information that can be accepted within the scope of Article 7 of Law No. 4982, and it does not pertain to information or documents specified as exceptions under the heading 'Limits of the Right to Information' in the fourth section of the same Law.''

News Source: 12punto