After an application by the media authority, the Ankara 1sth Penal Judgeship of Peace yesterday (June 30) ruled for the "censorship" of the webpages of Voice of America and Deutsche Welle. The two websites have been blocked due to the two outlets' failure to apply to the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) for a license.

The Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BIK) implemented the decision on Thursday.

The authorities blocked the domains dw.com and amerikaninsesi.com, the web address of VOA's Turkish service. Both the Turkish and English editions of DW are banned, whereas VOA's English edition is accessible in Turkey at voiceofamerica.com.

RTÜK on February 21 asked VOA, DW Turkish and Euronews to apply for a license within 72 hours, citing a 2019 regulation obligating online broadcasters to obtain a license from the agency.

In April, it withdrew its request from Euronews after it made some changes to its website, whereas the other two outlets said they would not adhere to the request and would take legal action against it.

DW director-general: An unacceptable decision

Peter Limbourg, the director-general of DW, said the decision was unacceptable to an independent news outlet.

"We had outlined in extensive correspondence and even in a personal conversation with the chairman of the media control authority why DW could not apply for such a license," he said in a statement quoted by DW.

"For example, media licensed in Turkey are required to delete online content that RTÜK interprets as inappropriate. This is simply unacceptable for an independent broadcaster. DW will take legal action against the blocking that has now taken place."

News of the blocking was already spreading on social media in Turkey on Thursday evening. There, users of DW's offerings can find out about ways to circumvent censorship.