It's now official. The Turkish government has blocked user access to Reddit through a controversial censorship law that prevents residents in the country from visiting the front page of the internet. The news first circulated when users reported that they were not able to get access to Reddit, and it seems that the social media site is still barred from access to the people in Turkey at the time of writing. It is still unclear whether the country's officials are going to lift the ban, or it will remain blocked under Internet Law 5651.
According to reports, users were unable to visit Reddit since Friday, and it seems that the ban is still in effect up to now. An official site of the Turkish government had confirmed the ban with a standard message that seemed like a spiel: "After technical analysis and legal consideration ... we have taken administrative measures for this website."
The published statement says that Reddit was successfully taken down under the country's controversial internet law, which is also known as Law No. 5651. It allows the Turkish Supreme Council for Telecommunications and IT to ban websites that contain harmful content such as pornography, prostitution, drugs, terrorism, sharing of files illegally, sexual abuse of children and crimes against the first president of Turkey, Mustafa Ataturk.
Reports also say that the Turkish Supreme Council for Telecommunications and IT are not required to have court authorization to fully ban websites on such grounds, and they have the power to do so even if it's just under suspicion of such activities.
It is still unclear what prompted the government to crackdown on Reddit. And while the front page of the internet doesn't repute for safe-for-work content, the Turkish government's law, which has been passed eight years ago, have many opportunities to take action.
