Alarm bells over 'Orwellian' Turkish Internet curbs

Turkey was under fire yesterday over new Internet curbs that critics say constitute a distressing slide towards authoritarianism in the aspiring EU member state.
Parliament passed the measures late Wednesday, the latest controversial moves in Turkey as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to bring the judiciary and police to heel to contain a snowballing and deeply embarrassing corruption probe sullying the upper echelons of power.
Brussels, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said the restrictions, including the blocking of webpages without a court order, raised "serious concerns" and need "to be revised in line with European standards".
Under the new measures, Turkey's Telecommunications Communications Presidency can demand that providers block pages deemed insulting or as invading privacy -- and without the need for a judge.
The body will also be able to request users' online communications and traffic information from hosting providers, which will have to retain up to two years' worth of data.