ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Wednesday to take control of social media platforms in the country, one day after the levelling of disparaging comments against his family online. The Turkish government has intensified its monitoring of social media in recent years, often arbitrarily detaining and legally pursuing those who share content not in line with official narratives and policy. Erdogan pledged Wednesday to take control of the sites by getting parliament to remove the networks, reports state media. Turkish police headquarters announced in a statement earlier in the day that they have detained 11 people for their incendiary comments toward the President’s family. To which, the country’s interior minister Suleyman Soylu described those arrested as “devils.” While speaking to ruling Justice and Development Party’s provincial heads at a video conference on Wednesday, Erdogan said that it is “imperative” to take control of social media platforms like Youtube and Twitter and the streaming service Netflix, according to state-owned media outlet Anadolu Agency (AA). This comes after insulting comments were made in response to a tweet on Tuesday in which Turkish finance minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogan’s son-in-law, shared news that he and his wife, Esra, had welcomed their fourth baby. “Do you understand why we oppose Youtube, Twitter, Netflix and other social media platforms? It is to get rid of immoral actions,” said Erdogan, adding that “It is imperative that these channels are brought under control.” “The main issue we need to focus on is how media, especially social media platforms, have become the means of such rottenness … These sorts of platforms are not convenient for our nation and country. For this reason, we will take them to the parliament as soon as possible in order to completely remove and control such social media platforms.” Erdogan’s latest comments have been criticized by many, including opposition leaders - some of whom sarcastically asked the President to postpone the shutdown of Netflix until the completion of their favorite TV-series. "If you close Netflix before the end of Dark's last season, I swear I will be offended," tweeted Meral Aksener, leader of IYI (Good) Party. The hashtag #SosyalMedyamaDOKUNMA (Don’t touch my social media) has been trending in Turkey. However, other politicians backed up the President’s sentiments, harshly condemning the social media platforms. Erdogan’s ally Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), endorsed the president’s statement in a number of tweets, saying that he has decided to abandon both Twitter and Facebook in response. Fahrettin Altun, one of Erdogan’s top aides, said in a statement that his boss’ remarks have been taken out of context, but added that these social media platforms have to pay the government taxes.
