UPDATE - Facebook to appoint local Turkey representative

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM DEPUTY INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTER

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Facebook on Monday agreed to appoint a formal representative in Turkey, the Silicon Valley-based company announced.

In a statement, the social media giant said it would be assigning a legal entity in the country in a bid to comply with new legislation enacted last year.

"While taking this decision, we would like to underline the importance of our platform as a place where users can exercise their right to freedom of expression," it added.

The law requires platforms that are accessed over a million times per day in Turkey to appoint local representatives.

It includes other penalties as well, including fines, a ban on Turkish firms listing ads with the platforms and bandwidth limitations, that are to kick in if under continued noncompliance with the measures.

Facebook's latest decision came a day before the ad ban would have been imposed.

In a tweet, Turkey's deputy transport and infrastructure minister urged Twitter and other platforms that have yet to announce plans to appoint a representative to follow suit and comply with the new social media law enacted in October.

Omer Fatih Sayan argued that it would be unfair to see the penalties imposed by the law as an "intervention on freedom," underlining that its primary purpose was to protect the freedoms of individual.

"They [social media platforms] must comply with the law as they do in the EU," he noted, calling on users to demand Twitter and other providers continue their services in Turkey adhering on the country's laws.

"We will continue to rise on our own wings, protect our cyber homeland and digital borders. We expect support from all our citizens, both for this struggle and for local practices."

- Social media law

Last year, Turkey imposed a fine of 40 million Turkish liras ($5.43 million) on multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, for not complying with the social media law.

So far, Russian social media site VKontakte (VK), YouTube, TikTok, Dailymotion, LinkedIn and Instagram have decided to assign local offices in the country.

As part of the legislation, social media firms must respond to requests by the Turkish government in the Turkish language and must answer requests concerning personal and privacy rights within 48 hours.

The platforms should also publish semi-annual reports on their response rates to such requests.

Social networks that do not comply with court orders to remove illegal content are to be subject to penalties, according to the law.

In addition, it also holds social media companies to take measures to host Turkey-based users' data in-country.