Turkey’s media regulator has ordered Tele2 Haber, an online news outlet that is critical of the government, to apply for two separate internet broadcasting licenses within 72 hours or face an access block, the Cumhuriyet daily reported.
Tuncay Keser, a member of Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), said the regulator required that the outlet obtain both an internet television broadcasting license and an on-demand streaming license, warning that authorities could seek to restrict access if the applications are not submitted by the deadline.
Keser said the decision was “devoid of a legal basis,” “disproportionate” and restricts freedom of the press.
He argued that requiring YouTube-based publishers to obtain on-demand broadcasting licenses effectively creates open-ended regulatory authority over online broadcasting, undermines legal predictability and targets pluralism in the digital sphere. Keser said independent journalism and freedom of expression online were being “squeezed” through licensing procedures that impose financial and administrative burdens while introducing what he described as non-objective oversight.
RTÜK members are elected by parliament in proportion to party representation, and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its allies hold a majority of seats, giving the governing bloc effective control of the regulator’s decisions.
RTÜK has repeatedly used fines, broadcast suspensions and licensing enforcement against critical outlets. In 2025 alone the regulator issued 99 sanctions and imposed roughly $5.3 million in fines on 32 media outlets, with news and political commentary programs among the most heavily penalized.
Opposition-leaning broadcasters were among the most frequently sanctioned. Sözcü TV received 16 sanctions, TELE1 15 and Halk TV 14, including fines, program suspensions and broadcast blackouts totaling 25 days across the channels.
Licensing requirements have also increasingly been applied to online journalism. In December 2024 RTÜK ordered the YouTube channel Cumhuriyet TV to obtain a broadcasting license within 72 hours or face possible access blocking, marking the first such requirement imposed on a YouTube news outlet.
In 2025 similar licensing warnings were issued to the YouTube channels of journalist Fatih Altaylı, FluTV and BirGün TV, including a 72-hour deadline for BirGün TV to apply for a license shortly after launching a new broadcast season.
RTÜK has long been criticized by opposition parties, media unions and international watchdog organizations for imposing fines, temporary broadcast suspensions and other sanctions that they say disproportionately affect broadcasters critical of the government.
Turkey expanded RTÜK’s authority in 2019 to cover internet broadcasting platforms, allowing the regulator to require licenses for online television and streaming services and to request court orders blocking outlets that fail to comply. Since then, several digital outlets and journalists operating on YouTube have been instructed to obtain licenses in a short period of time or face possible access restrictions, a move critics say adds another layer of regulatory pressure on independent media operating online.
Turkey ranks near the bottom of global press-freedom indexes compiled by international watchdog organizations, which cite regulatory pressure, legal prosecutions and media ownership concentration as key challenges affecting independent journalism in the country.
