PEN International and other bodies are calling on the authorities in Turkey to lift the ban on the storytelling platform Wattpad. On 12 July 2024, a court in Ankara blocked access to the storytelling platform Wattpad without providing any justification. Particularly popular with young people, the platform has a significant number of users in Turkey, enabling aspiring writers to publish original stories and connecting readers around the world. On 17 July, the Turkish Publishers Association, PEN Turkey and the Turkish Writers Union issued a statement deploring the ban as an attack on the freedom to read and to write.
At the International Publishers Association, Kristenn Einarsson, chair of the IPA’s Freedom to publish committee said: “This indiscriminate blocking of a whole literary platform is a clear restriction of the freedom to publish and continues the worrying trend in Türkiye to restrict the publication of books. We call on the authorities to unblock Wattpad immediately.”
Now PEN International “urges the authorities of Turkey to immediately reverse the decision to block Wattpad and to end their baseless campaign against reading materials. Access to diverse literature, thought and opinion is a fundamental right that must be respected by governments worldwide”.
Burhan Sonmez, PEN International President, said: “The decision by the authorities of Turkey to ban Wattpad without any justification is yet another example of the ever-growing crackdown on reading materials in the country. Writers and readers alike should be able to generate and access creative content freely, without fear of censorship. We urge the authorities to lift the arbitrary ban on Wattpad and to end their incessant curtailing of free speech.”
