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Türkiye Blocks Instant Messaging Platform Discord

Street vendors sell corn and traditional Turkish backeray "Simit" as people pass by their stands in the Eminonu district of Istanbul on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
Street vendors sell corn and traditional Turkish backeray "Simit" as people pass by their stands in the Eminonu district of Istanbul on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
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Türkiye Blocks Instant Messaging Platform Discord

Street vendors sell corn and traditional Turkish backeray "Simit" as people pass by their stands in the Eminonu district of Istanbul on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
Street vendors sell corn and traditional Turkish backeray "Simit" as people pass by their stands in the Eminonu district of Istanbul on August 30, 2024. (AFP)

Türkiye has blocked access to instant messaging platform Discord following a court decision, the country's infotech regulator said on Wednesday.

Türkiye’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) published the access ban decision on its website.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said a court in the capital Ankara decided to remove access from Türkiye to San Francisco-based Discord due to sufficient suspicion that the crimes of "child sexual abuse and obscenity" have been committed.

"We are determined to protect our youth and children from the harmful publications of social media and the internet that constitute crimes. We will never allow attempts to shake the foundations of our social structure," Tunc also said in a post on X.

The access ban decision comes after public outrage caused by the murder of two women, perpetrated by a 19-year-old man earlier this month.

Following the incident, content on social media showed some users of Discord were praising the killing which led to public outrage against certain communities on the platform.

On Tuesday, Russia's communications regulator blocked Discord for violating Russian law, after previously fining the company for failing to remove banned content, the TASS news agency reported.

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OpenAI Finds More Chinese Groups Using ChatGPT for Malicious Purposes

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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OpenAI Finds More Chinese Groups Using ChatGPT for Malicious Purposes

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

OpenAI is seeing an increasing number of Chinese groups using its artificial intelligence technology for covert operations, which the ChatGPT maker described in a report released Thursday.

While the scope and tactics employed by these groups have expanded, the operations detected were generally small in scale and targeted limited audiences, the San Francisco-based startup said, according to Reuters.

Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, there have been concerns about the potential consequences of generative AI technology, which can quickly and easily produce human-like text, imagery and audio.

OpenAI regularly releases reports on malicious activity it detects on its platform, such as creating and debugging malware, or generating fake content for websites and social media platforms.

In one example, OpenAI banned ChatGPT accounts that generated social media posts on political and geopolitical topics relevant to China, including criticism of a Taiwan-centric video game, false accusations against a Pakistani activist, and content related to the closure of USAID.

Some content also criticized US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, generating X posts, such as "Tariffs make imported goods outrageously expensive, yet the government splurges on overseas aid. Who's supposed to keep eating?".

In another example, China-linked threat actors used AI to support various phases of their cyber operations, including open-source research, script modification, troubleshooting system configurations, and development of tools for password brute forcing and social media automation.

A third example OpenAI found was a China-origin influence operation that generated polarized social media content supporting both sides of divisive topics within US political discourse, including text and AI-generated profile images.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on OpenAI's findings.

OpenAI has cemented its position as one of the world's most valuable private companies after announcing a $40 billion funding round valuing the company at $300 billion.