Three Internet Exchange Points will be established, and if there is no solution, the ban will be put on the agenda.

The US’s decision to “sell or shut down” the China-based social media platform Tiktok also alarmed Turkey. Turkey will take precautions against Tiktok and similar applications, which the USA wants to ban on the grounds that it “forces its citizens to share data and provides false information and propaganda content”. In the process called “First Digital World Wars”, taking into account China’s rise in the digital world, one Internet Exchange Point (IDN) will be established in Ankara and two in Istanbul. Thanks to IDNs, it will be possible to track data coming from domestic and abroad. If this is not a solution, Türkiye will also put TikTok’s ban on its agenda.

Tiktok decision from the USA: It will either be sold or banned

The US Senate approved the bill for TikTok, the social media platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. According to the bill, TikTok will be banned if it is not sold to someone the United States deems appropriate. The bill won approval from senators concerned about the app collecting data from more than 170 million American users and the potential for China to use it for propaganda purposes. Minister Joe Biden, said he would sign the measure into law. The law was passed last Tuesday night by a vote of 79 to 18.

TikTok has denied that the Chinese government has any control over the app. But the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warnersaid in a statement on Tuesday that the Chinese government’s lobbying of members of Congress on the bill “shows how expensive Chinese President Xi Jinping has invested in TikTok.”

30 million users in Turkey

According to the latest data published in January 2023, there are 30.8 million TikTok users in Turkey. TikTok has recently come to the fore in Turkey, especially due to its obscene content, and information about its activities in Turkey was requested from its officials invited to the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

Making a statement after the USA’s TikTok decision, the Chairman of the Digital Media Commission Hüseyin YaymanHe said that the statements made by TikTok representatives in the Turkish Grand National Assembly Digital Media Commission in December last year did not satisfy the members of the commission or the public. Explaining that digital networks have their own self-control mechanisms, but they are insufficient, Yayman said, “Our people tell us: ‘This TikTok is a national security issue, we want this place to be closed’.” Yayman asked TikTok representatives, “While you comply with these self-control mechanisms in the USA, Europe and other countries of the world, why do not you comply in Turkey? “Here, people’s immoral behavior under the name of collecting money and donations is neither in line with our local and national values ​​nor in line with universal norms,” ​​he said.

They will be called again

Stating that they will call TikTok representatives to the Parliament again in the coming days, Yayman said, “Because we see that there is a difference between the answers they give us and the practices they follow. There are some promises, but we see that these promises are not fulfilled. We never approve of these. In coordination with our Ministry of Transport and the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, there are sanction possibilities up to band narrowing, advertising and trade bans and license cancellation. We will evaluate all of these in line with the demands of our nation. “We will discuss this issue more intensively and comprehensively in the coming days,” he said.

3 Internet Exchange Points will be established in Turkey

Following the US decision, Türkiye was also alarmed. In this context, in the first stage, one Internet Exchange Points (IDN) will be established in Ankara and two in Istanbul. With the IDN to be established, TikTok data will be able to be more tightly controlled by security authorities. If the problem of data transfer abroad cannot be solved completely, banning TikTok in Turkey will also be on the agenda.

Alibaba is also being watched on suspicion of espionage

Recently, another Chinese company, Alibaba, was also accused of espionage activities. It was stated that the Belgian Intelligence Service was monitoring Alibaba’s main logistics center in Europe on suspicion of espionage. Making special reference to Alibaba’s logistics arm at the cargo airport in Liège, Belgian security forces said in their statement to the Financial Times (FT) that they were “working to detect possible espionage and/or interference activities carried out by Chinese entities, including Alibaba.”

The security service said Alibaba’s presence “creates a point of caution for VSSE” due to legislation forcing Chinese companies to share their data with Chinese authorities and intelligence services.

Minister Uraloğlu: Band narrowing to X is also on our agenda

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu He made statements about

Stating that X could not appoint a representative to Turkey, Uraloğlu said, “There will also be a need for a legal regulation regarding this. Our talks are still continuing. There is an advertising ban in effect. “Following the band narrowing practice is also on our agenda,” he said.