ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey's parliament passed a law Thursday that subjects the Internet to the same restrictions as print media but abandoned plans to require official permission to set up a Web site.
The law provides for fines of up to $85,000 for Web sites that publish "untrue news, insults and similar material."
However, the government abandoned clauses in an earlier draft of the law that would have required permission from local government authorities to set up a Web site in Turkey and have forced the owners of Web sites to provide printed copies of the site to a local prosecutor every day.
The law also contains clauses that bar individuals or firms from owning a majority share in a television or radio channel that has more than 20 percent of the average annual national audience. It imposes fines on channels that violate broadcasting standards instead of the previous practice of temporary closure.
A controversial clause revokes a ban on media owners entering state tenders. Opposition parties had argued the ban should be maintained, saying its removal could lead to a dangerous convergence of interests between politicians and media owners.
