TURKISH CENCORSHIP BOARD IMPOSED SANCTIONS ON NETFLIX, DISNEY+ AND AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
Netflix, Disney +, Prime Video, MUBI, BeIN and Blu TV were exposed to sanctions imposed by Turkish Radio Television Sanction Board (RTÜK). While the justifications of the fines are “imagining an alternative world based on gender”, “crossing the limits of sexuality and gender”, “including LGBTQ+ items”.
Turkish Radio Television Sanction Board (RTÜK) imposed sanctions on digital platforms Netflix, Disney +, Prime Video, MUBI, BeIN and BluTV. “Social and cultural values”, “Turkish family structure”, “morality”, “LGBTIQ+”, “homosexuality”, “knowing no bounds regarding gender, sexuality and relations” and “imagining an alternative world based on gender” were among the justifications of the censorship. Radio Television Supreme Court negotiated the evaluation reports and the meeting resulted in administrative fines at the upper limit.
The Supreme Council finalized two separate files of Netflix. The first report was on the production titled “The Mother”. The fine was justified as follows in the evaluation report:
“The facts that the film knows no bounds of gender, sexuality and relationships, imagines an alternative and ideal world based on gender, changes the universal family structure and shows highly obscene scenes in detail, and normalizes an even defines all these as ‘wholesome’ has been judged to violate the principle of protecting the family.”
Approving the findings in the report, RTÜK decided to impose an administrative fine on Netflix at the upper limit.
Netflix was also fined due to the series titled “Élite”. The Supreme Court decided that Netflix violated the provision “Broadcasting services cannot be contrary to the national and the moral values of society, general morality and the principle of protection of the family.”
The “inclusion of homosexual relations” was also one of the reasons given for the administrative fines imposed on “The Mother” and “Élite”.
The Disney+ series “Love, Victor” was also on RTÜK’s agenda. Season 2, episode 4 of the series was penalized based on the report which claims that the series “includes disturbing an immoral behaviors”. The platform was fined at the upper limit.
Amazon Prime Video was also fined and the RTÜK decided to impose the upper limit fine on the broadcaster for the production entitled “Modern Love” on the grounds that it was “contrary to the moral values of society and the principal of protection of the family”.
The films on MUBI entitled “Le Lycéen” and “Room in Rome”, in which the main characters are lesbians, also had their share of fines from RTÜK . Both films were deemed as “contrary to the principles of broadcasting due to the scenes including distorted relationships and obscenity”.
The Supreme Council impose administrative fines on BluTV series “The Book Of Queer” for “containing LGBTQ+ items” and on the movie “Lost Highway” broadcast on beIN MOVIES STARS on the grounds that “Broadcasting services cannot be contrary to the national and the moral values of society, general morality and the principle of protection of the family.”
In addition to the administrative fines, RTÜK decided to invite broadcasters to Ankara in September for a comprehensive meeting with digital internet platforms on broadcasting policy in relation to issues such as “the Turkish family structure, national spiritual values and the indivisible integrity of Turkey”.
ÇELENK: “WE SHARE THE WORLD WITH LGBT+ INDIVIDUALS”
Green Left Party Diyarbakır Deputy Sevilay Çelenk, criticized The Radio and Television Supreme Council’s censorship on digital platforms. Green Left Party Diyarbakır Deputy Sevilay Çelenk evaluated The Radio and Television Supreme Council — RTÜK’s censorship on digital platforms in an interview with turkish newspaper Evrensel. Answering Gözde Tüzer’s questions, Çelenk used the following expressions: “We share the world we live in with LGBT+ individuals. They exist in this world, and they have the right to present and include their narratives, issues, and loves in the world they live in.” Çelenk stated that TV series and films on digital platforms should not promote hate speech, hate crimes, violence, or explicit encouragement of crime, and they should not contain pedophilia or normalize it. She also mentioned, “Digital platforms already have their own limits regarding productions containing pornography. For example, films like ‘Blue Is the Warmest Colour’ and ‘Nymphomaniac,’ which are defined as art films, are not subject to censorship. However, these productions inform the audience about their content of eroticism. Therefore, RTÜK’s intervention in digital platforms may solely aim to be intimidating in terms of broadcasting with high fines. They cannot prevent the audience from accessing them; if the audience cannot reach them through platforms like Netflix, they eventually find a way through pirate channels.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR VIEWERS IN TURKEY?
Following the Board’s decision, platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video are being asked to take the fined movies or TV series episodes off the air in Turkey. If the platforms do not remove the content in question or continue to receive similar fines for other content, they will face threats such as band throttling, advertising bans and license revocation (blocking access to the platforms in Turkey) after the fine.
ATATURK TV SERIES PROVOKES PROTESTS
Disney+’s historical series project about the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first leader of the Republic of Turkey, was announced last year and it was stated that the series would star popular Turkish actors as well as global stars such as Emma Watson. However, the Armenian diaspora organized protest campaigns against the series, which is expected to air on Disney+ on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey. In 1915, the Armenian diaspora blamed Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for the Armenian Genocide in Turkey, which resulted in the murder of 1.5 million Armenian civilians. As a result of the protests of the Armenian diaspora, it was announced that the series would not be broadcast globally on Disney+ and would only be shown on Turkish television. However, RTÜK held Disney+ responsible for this issue and announced that they could impose penalties on the platform such as band narrowing, advertising bans and license revocation.
