Turkish authorities intensified inspections of internet cafes after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a public warning to café operators to bring their businesses into compliance with the law.
Police sealed and shut approximately 2,000 cafes that had failed to block obscene or illegal material. More than 30 website operators were arrested on charges related to distributing child sexual abuse content, with operations conducted across Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, and several other cities, with plans to extend the campaign nationwide.
Authorities are also monitoring users who accessed indecent sites and downloaded prohibited content.
Local governors in multiple cities banned children under 12 from entering internet cafes unless accompanied by a parent, and students are barred from visiting cafes during school hours. Café owners are required to install filtering software on their computers. Those who fail to comply face fines of at least 3,000 Turkish lira and prison sentences of up to six months.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.