Radio and Television Supreme Council, also known in short as RTÜK, is the Turkish state agency for monitoring, regulating, and sanctioning radio and television broadcasts. RTÜK was founded in 1994 and is composed of nine members elected by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. RTÜK is located in Ankara and maintains local offices in Istanbul, İzmir and Diyarbakir. Telecommunications and information technology sectors fall under another state agency, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). RTÜK has recently initiated the establishment of two international forums in the field of audio visual media services such as the Black Sea Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum (BRAF) among 12 members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) in 2009, and the Islamic Countries Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum (IBRAF), an affiliate of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), with its 57 member states, in 2011.

Notable sanctions and penalties imposed by RTÜK

In February 2022 RTÜK demanded that three international news agencies - Voice of America, Euronews, and Germany's Deutsche Welle - apply for online broadcasting licenses. Deutsche Welle said it was an attempt "to restrict the reporting of international media services"; VOA issued a statement that it will not abide by RTÜK's demand for an online license, explaining that "the internet is not a limited resource, and the only possible purpose of a licensing requirement for internet distribution is enabling censorship".

Others

Website Blockings

RTÜK may request that access to broadcasting services/websites be blocked if they have not been granted a temporary or permanent broadcasting license, or if their right and/or license has been revoked.

RTÜK's Family Projects

Besides sanctioning broadcasts, RTÜK also leads some projects purportedly "to protect children and to help parents in media environment". These projects are:

Law

Prior to 1994, television and radio broadcasts were only permitted by the state. The Law No. 3984 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and their Broadcasts, dated 13 April 1994 liberalised this, allowing an explosion of private media. The 1994 law was replaced by Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises, which came into force on 15 February 2011.