Google accuses Turkey of intercepting access of its public DNS service

Freedom of speech is not free and it is not a right in every country. The blocking of Twitter and YouTube in Turkey is well-documented, but the question of right and wrong is more up in the air. After all, not all countries have to follow the lead of the USA, although it is hard to argue with giving citizens the right to express themselves. However, that is an argument and a fight of which the Turkish people must take ownership.

Google is claiming that ISPs in Turkey are intercepting their DNS service. The implication, unstated in Google’s announcement, is that this is being done in order to block services such as YouTube and Twitter which are banned by the government. The company cites “credible reports” and their own research. The Turkish government has been on a campaign against Twitter and YouTube lately over their use by critics of the government. On Saturday the government condemned YouTube for a recording posted on it of a government official discussing possible military action in Syria.