Turkey’s Constitutional Court, in a 14-2 decision, ruled the government ban on You Tube in March is unconstitutional. This ban came on the heels of taking down Twitter throughout Turkey. These actions were on the orders from Prime Minister Recep Tyyip Erdogan and his apparent ongoing battle with modernity.

Erdogan is anticipated to run for President this August, in the first popular election for that office, and he has been tailoring his policies to a successful conclusion from banning public protests to restricting internet access.

The release of several recordings purportedly to be of Erdogan discussing everything from the arrest of former government Ministers to recent actions against Syria surfaced on You Tube causing his unilateral action of shutting down the site in Turkey. Likewise, Twitter came into his sites as he stated ” Twitter disgraces our nation and morals.” This ban announced after several other recordings surfaced on Twitter allegedly of Erdogan as well as Twitter being used to organize anti-governemnet protests.

Yesterday’s high court decision in Ankara once again places the judiciary at odds with the Prime Minister who has vowed to “clean up the judicial branch from foreign elements.”

Meanwhile in a separate but not unrelated event, the European Court of Justice has compelled Google (parent company of You Tube) to take action on what has come to be termed “the right to be forgotten” by instituting a process to remove outdated and/or damaging information. This landmark ruling is destined to change the way privacy laws are now implemented regarding the storage and display of data though unclear how a massive undertaking such as this will eventually play out.

There is little doubt that Erdogan will attempt to use this latest court ruling in his favor in order to continue his ban on social media and freedom of speech writ large. This comes as no surprise as the rule of law in Turkey has been bent and shaped by the government for personal gain and political expediency during the later years of Erdogan’s rule.

Turkey was once held up as an example of blending both Islam and democracy into a viable state model but it is quickly degenerating into an informational black hole for its citizens who clamor for the basic right to express their thoughts without government interference.