Turkey plans to nationalize information infrastructure, says minister

[FarCenter]

Critical work is continuing to nationalize Turkey’s information infrastructure in a bid to keep online data within the country to enhance further data security, Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication Minister Ahmet Arslan has said.

“We will store the data of social media organizations such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in Turkey and ensure the security of our citizen’s data,” he told Anadolu Agency on Jan. 16.

Arslan said they prioritized the establishment of data centers in Turkey and were cooperating with the related Communication General Directorate on the issue. Underlining that they had accelerated works to extend national infrastructure in information technologies, Arslan said they were providing R&D initiatives for national software and hardware systems.

A decree law on incentives for data centers to be built in Turkey by the private sector went into force on Nov. 22, 2016, when it was published in the Official Gazette.

“The national estate under the Finance Ministry will provide free-of-charge land allocation, cheap electricity, a reduction in the premiums to be taken from employees and tax reductions for companies, according to the Decree Law. We have prioritized the establishment of national data centers to store Turkey’s data, particularly our citizens’ data in our country,” said Arslan.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-plans-to-nationalize-information-infrastructure-says-minister.aspx?pageID=238&nID=108620&NewsCatID=345

[wordpix]

1. given the latest Russia-Turkey brotherhood, this is not a good thing

my guess is Russia told Turkey to rein in the internet talk by storing "the data of social media orgs." Note media mentioned are those by which info spreads freely and often.

[FarCenter]

2. The Turks had a front row seat to observe how social media was used during Arab Spring

Just as the Russians did during the Color Revolutions.

So both countries have reasons to control social media within their borders.

And border controls on information flows are needed to mitigate international interference in domestic politics.