Turkish government has blocked Tor network, also known as The Onion Router which monitors internet access within the country. Sever slowdown on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube was witnessed by experience users, but the country’s popular service provider TTNet has not been affected as yet.
The Turkish government applied restrictions on Tor after a few hours when an off duty policeman shot Russian ambassador to the country, who had come on a visit to an opening of an art exhibition in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It has been acknowledged that it is not for the first time that government has blocked the site, but according to the Turkish Prime Minister such measures are taken from time to time for security reasons also, especially during periods of social unrest and the restriction is temporary and it will be normal once the danger passes.
The measures of blocking access to the Tor anonymous network will change the nature of internet usage in the coming years, diminishing freedom of opinion, freedom of media and expression in Turkey according to the group. This move has shocked internet users, journalists and activists who employ such sites to circumvent censorship. According to the Turkey Blocks partial or total blocking of Tor, VPN and similar services will move Turkey’s internet censorship policies from moderate to severe in character.
As the crackdown began last month to cut off the virtual private networks used by people to hide where they go, but still many people are finding different ways to connect to Tor to avoid the block. It has also become very popular in countries like China as the governments watch what people do or say online.