Turkey bans gay dating app Grindr
Hook-up app and website for gay and bisexual men is blocked by the Criminal Court as a 'protection measure'
Image by Scott Nunn.
Turkey has banned, censored and blocked the gay dating app Grindr, it was revealed today (11 September).
The online database and website are inaccessible in the country from yesterday evening, according to the main Turkish LGBT association KAOS GL.
According to the gay rights group, Istanbul’s Criminal Court of Peace blocked the app as a ‘protection measure’.
A user attempting to access the hookup website received a message stating the Telecommunications Communication Presidency had implemented the measure.
Hayriye Kara, a lawyer for KAOS GL, told The Huffington Post: ‘The court decision is not published online and so we have no access to the procuration and therefore do not yet know what was the reason for the censorship.
‘It is most likely related to “general morality”, an ambiguous term used often against Trans sex workers.’
Ömer Akpınar, a Turkish gay rights activist, added: ‘Censoring Grindr is the last step in arbitrary limitations of freedom in Turkey.
‘Any lifestyle or identity, which does not fit to the state’s ideology, is being deprived of their rights and freedoms.’
Grindr, one of the world’s most popular hook-up apps, utilizes a user’s location to allow gay men to meet and chat to others close by.
The online database and website are inaccessible in the country from yesterday evening, according to the main Turkish LGBT association KAOS GL.
According to the gay rights group, Istanbul’s Criminal Court of Peace blocked the app as a ‘protection measure’.
A user attempting to access the hookup website received a message stating the Telecommunications Communication Presidency had implemented the measure.
Hayriye Kara, a lawyer for KAOS GL, told The Huffington Post: ‘The court decision is not published online and so we have no access to the procuration and therefore do not yet know what was the reason for the censorship.
‘It is most likely related to “general morality”, an ambiguous term used often against Trans sex workers.’
Ömer Akpınar, a Turkish gay rights activist, added: ‘Censoring Grindr is the last step in arbitrary limitations of freedom in Turkey.
‘Any lifestyle or identity, which does not fit to the state’s ideology, is being deprived of their rights and freedoms.’
Grindr, one of the world’s most popular hook-up apps, utilizes a user’s location to allow gay men to meet and chat to others close by.
No comments:
Post a Comment