Turkey: Twitter Agrees to Close Some Accounts

Apr 15, 2014 11:34 AM EDT | Matt Mercuro

Twitter will reportedly close some accounts in Turkey soon, and, for now, will not set up an office there as the government wants, according to Reuters.

The decision was made after a discussion over a recent dispute which saw the social media site get banned for two weeks.

"The two sides understood each other fully after the presentations, and a decision was made to establish a system for cooperation in the future," an official at the prime minister's office said, according to Reuters. "Some accounts will be closed. At this stage Twitter will not immediately establish a company but the necessary communication will be established via lawyers in Istanbul."

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government made headlines last month after blocking Twitter and YouTube. His decision to block both sites came after audio recordings, revealing corruption in his inner circle, were leaked and discussed on both sites.

Service to the site was blocked on March 21 before local elections. The ban was lifted 11 days ago when the constitutional court determined that it breached freedom of expression.

Erdogan disagreed with the decision to lift the ban, saying it was wrong and should be overturned, according to Reuters.

The Turkish official said the social media site implemented three key court rulings and said it would enact a number of important decisions within the next week or so, while it considers other issues.

"Twitter is not categorically against opening an office in Turkey and expressed this clearly. It will now conduct work and it will be determined whether Twitter will pay tax by the time it forms a company. Twitter said that if it needs to pay tax it will fulfill this responsibility," he said.

Twitter generates $35 million a year in advertising revenue in Turkey, according to Reuters.

YouTube is still blocked in Turkey.

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