Dailymotion Set to Appoint a Local Representative in Turkey

(Bloomberg) -- French video-hosting website Dailymotion SA will name a local representative in Turkey to comply with the country’s social-media law.

Dailymotion, which is accessed by more than 1 million people from Turkey per day, followed in the footsteps of TikTok Inc., Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Omer Fatih Sayan said on Twitter Saturday. “We hope for similar steps from social-media companies that have not appointed a local representative yet,” he wrote.

Turkish authorities fined Facebook Inc., YouTube Inc., Twitter Inc., Instagram Inc. and TikTok 40 million liras ($5.1 million) each last year for failing to appoint a local representative, which became a requirement last year.

Turkey’s parliament gave authorities new powers to tighten their grip on social media, delivering on a pledge made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has complained of offensive postings. The law has given the government more leverage against critics in a country that already monitors social media closely and has previously hampered access to websites, including Twitter and Youtube.

READ: Turkey’s Spat With Social-Media Heavyweights Brings Ad Ban Fears

Companies that don’t comply with the social-media law risk having their internet bandwidth slashed by as much as 90%, making their platforms practically too slow to use.