A Turkish court has ordered access to YouTube's Web site blocked because of videos allegedly insulting the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report quoted Paul Doany, head of Turk Telekom, Turkey's largest telecommunications provider, as saying that his company had immediately begun enforcing the ban.
The report said visitors to the YouTube site from Turkey were greeted with the message: 'Access to this site has been blocked by a court decision!'
The vast majority of Turkish Internet users use Turk Telekom, a state-run monopoly until it was privatized in 2005, the report said.
A message in both Turkish and English at the bottom of the page said, 'Access to http://www.youtube.com site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court.'
The court, acting on a petition from Turk Telekom, ruled later that it would revoke the ban as soon as it ascertained that the offending videos had been removed from YouTube. YouTube is owned by Internet search engine giant Google, the report further said.
The Associated Press report quoted Paul Doany, head of Turk Telekom, Turkey's largest telecommunications provider, as saying that his company had immediately begun enforcing the ban.
The report said visitors to the YouTube site from Turkey were greeted with the message: 'Access to this site has been blocked by a court decision!'
The vast majority of Turkish Internet users use Turk Telekom, a state-run monopoly until it was privatized in 2005, the report said.
A message in both Turkish and English at the bottom of the page said, 'Access to http://www.youtube.com site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court.'
The court, acting on a petition from Turk Telekom, ruled later that it would revoke the ban as soon as it ascertained that the offending videos had been removed from YouTube. YouTube is owned by Internet search engine giant Google, the report further said.