Mischievous Greek posters of the You Tube universe have apparently stepped over the line when it comes to relations with their neighbour and constant sparring partner Turkey.
The Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court today banned access to You Tube in Turkey after numerous video postings were made that allegedly insulted the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Turkey’s national and largest Internet provider Turk Telekom, immediately took steps to comply with the court order, sending Turks looking for their favourite You Tube videos to a dark existence.
The problems began over the last week, with a number of video posts made by Greeks and Turks belittling each other in what the Turkish media call a “virtual war.” The massive flame war, burned out of control for days with the final straw being a post that suggested that Turks were more inclined to involve themselves in same sex relationships. It was that final insult that seemed to send the courts to action.
Insulting Ataturk or "Turkishness" is a crime in Turkey punishable by prison. But in a wired world, it would seem that those posting from outside the borders of Turkey aren’t quite ready to volunteer for hard time, so the Turks have done the next best thing in their minds and banned You Tube from the nation’s computers.
Over the course of history many things have led to wars between nations, the Greeks and Turks have shared a rather suspicious peace for a while now, who knows it could be one wayward over the top post that renews ancient hostilities.
The Turks say that You Tube will be allowed to travel through the Internet again once the court order is rescinded. Creative Turks with alternate access may be able to pick up You Tube postings through a different carrier and for some strange reason those using Firefox as a browser continue to be able to view the portal , but for the majority of the nation, You Tube means No Tube for the foreseeable future.
The Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court today banned access to You Tube in Turkey after numerous video postings were made that allegedly insulted the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Turkey’s national and largest Internet provider Turk Telekom, immediately took steps to comply with the court order, sending Turks looking for their favourite You Tube videos to a dark existence.
The problems began over the last week, with a number of video posts made by Greeks and Turks belittling each other in what the Turkish media call a “virtual war.” The massive flame war, burned out of control for days with the final straw being a post that suggested that Turks were more inclined to involve themselves in same sex relationships. It was that final insult that seemed to send the courts to action.
Insulting Ataturk or "Turkishness" is a crime in Turkey punishable by prison. But in a wired world, it would seem that those posting from outside the borders of Turkey aren’t quite ready to volunteer for hard time, so the Turks have done the next best thing in their minds and banned You Tube from the nation’s computers.
Over the course of history many things have led to wars between nations, the Greeks and Turks have shared a rather suspicious peace for a while now, who knows it could be one wayward over the top post that renews ancient hostilities.
The Turks say that You Tube will be allowed to travel through the Internet again once the court order is rescinded. Creative Turks with alternate access may be able to pick up You Tube postings through a different carrier and for some strange reason those using Firefox as a browser continue to be able to view the portal , but for the majority of the nation, You Tube means No Tube for the foreseeable future.
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