The Turkish Parliament ratified the social media regulation bill early Wednesday, compelling platforms to comply with conditions or face fines and bandwidth reduction.
The government says the legislation was needed to combat cybercrime and protect users.
Speaking in Parliament Wednesday morning, ruling party lawmaker Rümeysa Kadak said the law would be used to remove posts that contain cyberbullying and insults against women.
The bill sets a formal definition of social media providers and aims to designate a responsible representative for investigations and legal proceedings relating to offenses on platforms.
Foreign-based social network providers that have more than 1 million daily visitors in Turkey will assign at least one representative in the country. Other social media giants have also been avoiding setting up permanent offices in Turkey to avoid paying taxes.
For instance, Twitter alone generates $35 million a year in advertising revenue in Turkey, none of which is taxed locally.
