According to a new omnibus bill being introduced by Turkey's AKP government, the Supreme Board of Radio and Television will soon be supervising channels broadcasting on the internet

The omnibus bill introduced by the Turkish AKP government will grant the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) authorization for the creation or revocation of licensing to channels broadcasting on the internet.

If the bill passes in the Turkish parliament, RTÜK will evaluate the license applications of channels broadcasting on the internet and will have the authority to make decisions on license applications.

Many internet television channels have started to broadcast in recent years due to the low cost of doing so, and as a result, dissenting television channels opposed to the government’s policies have been reaching wider audiences via the internet.

The AKP seems to have made the decision to create a censorship mechanism due to increasing interest in these dissenting television channels that broadcast on the internet and the benefits the political opposition has been receiving from this.

The government had previously introduced an internet censorship law granting extraordinary powers to the Head of Telecommunications Communication Presidency (TİB) and bringing URL-based blocking methods.