[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 403 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 403

Condemning the actions of the Government of Turkey in restricting free 
            expression and Internet freedom on social media.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 27, 2014

  Mr. Murphy (for himself and Mr. Johnson of Wisconsin) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the actions of the Government of Turkey in restricting free 
            expression and Internet freedom on social media.

Whereas an independent, unfettered media and freedom of expression, including on 
        the Internet and social media sites, are essential elements of 
        democratic, open societies;
Whereas infringement of press freedom in Turkey is a serious concern, with more 
        journalists currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country;
Whereas millions of people in Turkey, including senior members of the Government 
        of Turkey, use Twitter and other social media sites to communicate on a 
        daily basis;
Whereas the Government of Turkey imposed a countrywide ban on access to Twitter 
        on March 20, 2014, blocking the use of the communications platform to 
        engage in political speech;
Whereas respected nongovernmental organizations such as Amnesty International, 
        Reporters Without Borders, and Freedom House have condemned the decision 
        to block Twitter as an attack on Internet freedom and freedom of 
        expression in Turkey;
Whereas the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, defied the ban to send out a 
        series of tweets questioning the government's actions;
Whereas the Turkish Bar Association argued that the ban is unconstitutional and 
        in violation of Turkish and European human rights laws; and
Whereas, on March 26, 2014, the district court in Ankara, Turkey, blocked 
        implementation of the ban because it may restrict the freedoms of 
        expression and communication, which are protected by the Turkish 
        Constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the Government of Turkey's restrictions on 
        freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and Internet 
        freedom;
            (2) recognizes the critical role that technology and social 
        media sites play in helping independent journalists and the 
        general public to communicate and access information;
            (3) reaffirms the centrality of Internet freedom to efforts 
        by the United States Government to support democracy and 
        promote good governance around the world; and
            (4) calls on the Government of Turkey to immediately end 
        its restrictions on media freedom, including social media, and 
        restore access to Twitter.
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