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mer Fatih Sayan, head of Turkeys Information and Communication Technologies Authority (Source: Hurriyet Daily News)

ANKARA, Turkey (Hurriyet Daily News)It is impossible to grant access to the worlds largest encyclopedia, Wikipedia, unless Turkeys judicial decisions are implemented, the head of the countrys telecommunications watchdog has said.

There are judicial processes that had been completed regarding some Wikipedia pages but, unfortunately, Wikipedia has not removed those pages. Turkey obeys the rule of law and what will be said on the issue has already been said by the courts. It is impossible for Wikipedia to be opened without the implementation of those decisions, Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) head mer Fatih Sayan said at the opening ceremony of the Turkey Informatics Summit on May 3.

Sayan said the country is a civilization of knowledge, while expressing his sadness over the access ban.

He also said authorities were open to any kind of cooperation on condition that the website administration abide by the law to implement judicial decisions so as to permit access.

We can discuss it Freedom is not one-sided. Turkey has the rule of law. Everyone should [act] within the law. No one has the right to say, I do not recognize the Turkish courts. I also want to express that we are ready to provide all kinds of support to re-open Wikipedia, Sayan said.

Sayan, meanwhile, urged the online encyclopedia to confirm the information it provides.

My call is that Wikipedia should solve problems that led to its closure and the system should be rehabilitated at this point if required. We care about the latest developments in the fight against fake news on the internet We find WikiTribune initiative by Wikipedia officials positive. Fighting against fake news is beneficial for all of us, Sayan said.

The telecommunications watchdog stated on April 29 that it had blocked access to Wikipedia, citing a law allowing it to ban access to websites deemed obscene or a threat to national security.

The Ankara 1st Criminal Court of Peace later ordered the ban after the Wikipedia administration reportedly refused to remove two English-language pages claiming that Ankara channeled support to jihadists in Syria.

In response, the Wikimedia Foundation appealed the court ruling that came after the administrative measure against the website.

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Impossible to Access Wikipedia in Turkey Without Judicial Order - Asbarez Armenian News

BBC News

China to launch Wikipedia rival in 2018 BBC News China is to launch an online version of its national encyclopaedia next year, to compete with Wikipedia. Officials said more than 20,000 people had been hired to work on the project, which will feature 300,000 entries at about 1,000 words each. Tired of Just Blocking Wikipedia, China's Government Wants to Create Its Own Online EncyclopediaSlate Magazine (blog) China is recruiting 20000 people to create its own WikipediaEngadget China is making an official version of Wikipedia QuartzQuartz Ars Technica -Wired.co.uk -CNET -South China Morning Post all 25 news articles »

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China to launch Wikipedia rival in 2018 - BBC News

The Chinese government is recruiting 20,000 people to create an online encyclopedia thatwill bethecountrys own, China-centric version of Wikipedia, or as one official put it, like a Great Wall of culture.

Known as the Chinese Encyclopedia, the countrys national encyclopedia will go online for the first time in 2018, and the government has employed tens of thousands of scholars from universities and research institutes who will contribute articles in more than 100 disciplines. The end result will be a knowledge base with more than 300,000 entries, each of which will be about 1,000 words long.

The Chinese Encyclopaedia is not a book, but a Great Wall of culture, Yang Muzhi, the editor-in-chief of the project and the chairman of the Book and Periodicals Distribution Association of China, said. He added that China was under pressure from the international community to produce an encyclopedia thatwill guide and lead the public and society.

The need for an online reference encyclopedia is in part a result ofthe Chinese governmentblocking access to Wikipedia. Chinese internet companies like Baidu and Qihoo 360 operate their own online encyclopedias, but none are capable of matching Wikipedia in terms of scale and breadth of information.

The aim of the new version of the Chinese encyclopedia is to showcase Chinas latest science and technology developments, promote historical heritage, increase cultural soft power, and strengthen the core values of socialism, according to Yang, who stressed thatthe goal isnt to mimic Wikipedia: We have the biggest, most high-quality author team in the world. Our goal is not to catch up, but overtake.

At over 720 million users, China has the worlds largest internet population by a large margin, but it also has some of the worlds most restrictive internet laws.

President Xi Jinping has publicly called for greater cooperation among nations to develop and govern the internet, but he and his Communist Party have overseen ever-growing efforts to control what information and services Chinese citizens have access to online. The so-called Great Firewall of China is the most sophisticated censorship tool in use anywhere in the world today, blocking the parts of the internet the government deems unsavory.

It is unclear just how much the Chinese government will influence the topics being covered in next years edition of the Chinese Encyclopedia, but one of the scholars invited to take part believes the system needs to be updated to reflect the current era.

The original system is too outdated, Professor Huang Annian, a historian currently based in the U.S.,said, adding that the new encyclopedia needs to adapt to the development trend in 21st century, respect history, and face the future. I think it is necessary to emphasize the globalization of the world economy, political democracy, and cultural diversity.

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China is recruiting 20000 people to write its own Wikipedia - VICE News

The "Wikipedia" logo seen on a tablet screen. On Saturday, the site was blocked in Turkey. Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

The "Wikipedia" logo seen on a tablet screen. On Saturday, the site was blocked in Turkey.

Turkish residents were unable to access Wikipedia on Saturday after the government blocked the site, citing content "showing Turkey in coordination and aligned with various terrorist groups," according to the Anadolu news agency.

The government has not officially commented on the outage. But the Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Ministry told the state-run agency, "Instead of coordinating against terrorism, (Wikipedia) has become part of an information source which is running a smear campaign against Turkey in the international arena."

Ankara had asked Wikipedia to remove the content, but according to the Ministry, the site refused; if the site meets Turkey's demands, the ban will be lifted.

Turkey Blocks, a censorship monitoring group, said the the blackout occurred at 8 a.m. local time in accordance with an administrative blocking order, with a full court blocking order expected in the coming days.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports, "The government has lashed out at the posting of sensitive images or comments deemed insulting. Officials regularly impose news blackouts after terrorist attacks and other major incidents."

Saturday's move is the latest in what critics describe as Turkey's crack down on free speech following last summer's coup attempt, with dozens of media outlets shuttered and journalists jailed.

Wikipedia is a widely-used online encyclopedia, whose content is largely written by anonymous, unpaid volunteers.

Juliet Barbara, a spokeswoman for the Wikimedia Foundation, tells NPR, "We are committed to ensuring that Wikipedia remains available to the millions of people who rely on it in Turkey. To that end, we are actively working with outside counsel to seek judicial review of the decision affecting access to Wikipedia. We hope the issue can be resolved promptly."

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Turkey Blocks Wikipedia, Accusing It Of Running 'Smear Campaign' - NPR

Turkey blocked access to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, on Saturday, through a court measure used to block access to pages or entire websites to protect national security and public order.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) said an Ankara court ordered that a protection measure related to suspected Internet crimes be applied to Wikipedia, a collaborative online reference work.

In response, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tweeted his support for those who labeled the decision censorship of social media: Access to information is a fundamental human right. Turkish people I will always stand with you to fight for this right.

Turkey Blocks, an internet censorship monitor, said users in Turkey have been unable to access all language editions of Wikipedia since 8 a.m. local time Saturday.

The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country, the monitor said.

TURKEY BLOCKS POPULAR SOCIAL NETWORKS

Turkeys official news agency, quoting the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, said Saturday the site was blocked for becoming an information source acting with groups conducting a smear campaign against Turkey in the international arena.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said officials had warned Wikipedia to remove content likening Turkey to terror groups but the site persistently did not.

Turkey had demanded that Wikipedia open an office in the country, act in line with international law and abide by court decisions and not be part of blackout operation against Turkey, according to the agency.

Anadolu said if these demands are met and the content removed, the site would be reopened.

HACKERS HIJACK TWITTER ACCOUNTS WITH SWASTIKAS, 'NAZI HOLLAND' MESSAGES

Turkeys status is listed as not free on the 2016 Freedom on the Net index by independent rights watchdog Freedom House. It says over 111,000 websites were blocked as of May last year.

The country on Saturday also banned television dating programs. The decree banned radio and television programs for finding friends and spouses by adding a clause to the article on protecting children in Turkeys media law. The shows will not be allowed to air without television content rating symbols.

Dating programs, which draw high ratings and large ad revenues, have been a hot topic this year. Petitions have called for their bans and lawmakers across the political spectrum have criticized the programs as having a negative influence on families. Government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus has described them as contrary to Turkish customs and religion.

The state of emergency that followed last summers coup attempt has allowed the Turkish government to rule by decrees. Since then, more than 47,000 people have been arrested and 100,000have been purged for alleged connections to terror organizations.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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Turkey blocks Wikipedia in dissident clampdown - Fox News