ANKARA
Concerns from the European Union over Turkey's Internet bill are "unnecessary", according to Turkey's minister for EU affairs and chief negotiator, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The Turkish parliament passed a bill on Thursday that allows Turkey’s Internet regulator to block access to certain websites, without prior court approval.
Spokesperson for EU Enlargement Commissioner Peter Stano said that the bill "is raising serious concerns here."
"The Turkish public deserves more information and more transparency, not more restrictions."
However, when asked about the EU's concerns, Cavusoglu said that the EU needs to examine the law in detail."
"They need to understand the law before they make a statement."
"There will be no restrictions on the Internet. The law grants rights to intervene only if there is an intervention in people's private lives and this is related to individual freedom," he said during his meeting with Verena Taylor, director general of programs at the Council of Europe, Europe's top rights watchdog.
"The law only bans the content not the Internet server provider... It (the EU) is being unfair by making a fuss that Turkey is curbing Internet freedom," he added.
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