What is content removal?
Content removal (içeriğin çıkarılması or içeriğin yayından çıkarılması) means that the content provider or the hosting provider takes content off the server or out of the hosted material. Law No. 5651 defines it in Article 2. It is the only one of the three common remedies that targets the source:
- Removal deletes the content where it is published.
- Access blocking leaves it online but stops users in Türkiye from reaching it.
- Delisting leaves it online but removes it from search results for a person’s name (see right to be forgotten).
Who removes content, and on what basis?
- The content provider (the author or publisher) can remove its own content at any time and is the first addressee of the “warning method” in Article 2 of Law No. 5651.
- The hosting provider has no general duty to monitor content, but must remove unlawful content once notified in accordance with the Law (Article 5).
- Social network providers with more than one million daily accesses from Türkiye must answer applications within 48 hours, and are liable for damages if content found unlawful by a judge or court is not removed or blocked within 24 hours of notification (Additional Article 4).
- Civil courts can order removal as part of an action to stop an attack on personality rights under Articles 24 and 25 of the Turkish Civil Code. Since Article 9 of Law No. 5651 was annulled (effective 10 October 2024), this is the main judicial route for non-criminal reputational content.
The Constitutional Court’s 2023 decision also removed the Presidency’s power to order content removal of its own motion under Article 8(4); such orders now concern access blocking only.
In practice
Record the content first (notary or court evidence determination), then write to the content provider and the platform with a clear legal basis. Truthful criticism and genuine consumer complaints are protected expression, and trying to suppress them can itself be unlawful. We cover the practical steps for complaint sites and online reviews and for content on foreign platforms.
Is blocking enough, or do I need removal?
Blocking is faster to explain but weaker: the content stays online abroad and in archives. Where the content is clearly unlawful, removal at the source is the lasting result, and court orders aim at it.
Can I force a platform to reveal who posted the content?
Not by a private request. Platforms generally disclose user data only through legal process, typically following a criminal complaint and a prosecutor’s or court’s request.
Sources. Law No. 5651, Articles 2, 5, 8 and Additional Article 4; Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, Articles 24 and 25; Constitutional Court decision E. 2020/76, K. 2023/172. Official Turkish texts.