On Saturday nearly 2,000 gathered in a rally in Istanbul against Internet censorship, citing over 5,000 websites that have been blocked by the government for having "inappropriate content." The protesters marched down Istanbul's central Istiklal Avenue chanting slogans for YouTube and against the Transportation Minister, whose Ministry is responsible for site bans.
The rally was organized by the Common Platform Against Internet Censorship, a platform of over 50 non-governmental organizations established last month in response to the government's blocking of several Google services on June 3.
The first article of the platform's declaration states, " Internet users' right to freedom of thought and access to information cannot be blocked." Turks have dealt with Internet censorship for years, and even though the continuing ban on popular video-sharing website YouTube since May 2008 has had the most publicity, thousands of sites have been blocked, to the point where Reporters Without Borders (RSF) put Turkey on its "under surveillance" list for Internet censorship earlier this year, alongside countries such as Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Eritrea.
For more: Roundup: Turks start to organize against Internet control
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