Erdogan rebuffs 'pressure' by social media providers

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey will not bow down to "pressure" by social media companies that see themselves as above the laws on individual rights, the country's president asserted Wednesday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks came at a media awards ceremony held in the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

He accused social media companies of not complying with court rulings in Turkey against accounts found to support terrorism.

"We can't allow terrorism, its propaganda, to gain ground in the virtual world just as we don't allow terrorism within our borders," he said.

Erdogan added that recent developments across the world demonstrated the importance of Turkey's legal fight against "digital dictatorship and cyberbullying."