(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, SEPTEMBER 19 - Gay and bisexual male
dating website Grindr has been banned by Turkey's Directorate of
Telecommunication (TIB) as a "protective measure" following a
ruling by an Istanbul court, as daily Hurriyet online reports
today. Both the Grindr website and the mobile application have
become inaccessible since the TIB implemented the decision of
the 14th Criminal Court of Istanbul. The application can still
be downloaded from the application store, but it is not properly
accessible. Hayriye Kara, a lawyer for KAOS GL, an LGBT
association based in Ankara, said the court's decision was not
published online, ultimately meaning that the reason for the
censorship remains unknown. The media coordinator for the
association, Omer Akpinar, has slammed the government, calling
the ban an "arbitrary limitation of freedom." An online petition
has been launched demanding Turkey repeal the order of the court
blocking Grindr. Osman Nihat Sen, deputy director of the TIB,
rejected claims in a recent interview with daily Haberturk that
the authority applies a blanket ban on LGBT websites while
refusing to elaborate on the reasons for the censorship.
(ANSAmed).
(ANSAmed).
