Turkey says Twitter 'biased', did nothing to stop 'character assassinations'

Turkey said on Saturday that Twitter (TWTR.N) was "biased" and had been used for "systematic character assassinations" of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government, a day after Ankara's ban on the site prompted an international outcry.

However, a senior Turkish government official later told Reuters that talks with the social media company on resolving problems which led to the block were going positively.

The Turkish authorities blocked Twitter late on Thursday, hours after Erdogan vowed to "wipe out" the social media service during the campaigning period for local elections on March 30.

Leading condemnation from Western governments and rights organisations, the White House said the Twitter ban undermined democracy and free speech in Turkey.

The site remained blocked in Turkey on Saturday. Those trying to access it found an Internet page carrying court rulings saying it had been blocked as a "protection measure".

Many Turks reported difficulties in accessing not just Twitter but the Internet as a whole, according to media reports and comments on social media.

Erdogan's office said in a statement the ban on Twitter had come in response to the company's "defiance" in failing to comply with hundreds of court rulings since last January.

"Twitter has been used as a means to carry out systematic character assassinations by circulating illegally acquired recordings, fake and fabricated records of wiretapping," the prime minister's office said.

In recent weeks, audio recordings have been released via Twitter on an almost daily basis purporting to be telephone conversations involving Erdogan, senior government members and businessmen that reveal alleged corruption.

"It is difficult to comprehend Twitter's indifference and its biased and prejudiced stance. We believe that this attitude is damaging to the brand image of the company in question and creates an unfair and inaccurate impression of our country," the statement from Erdogan's office said.

Similar measures have been taken on the same grounds in other countries to prevent violations of personal rights and threats to national security, the statement added.

Erdogan is battling a corruption scandal which he says is a plot to undermine him by a U.S.-based Turkish Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen. Gulen is a former ally whose network of followers include influential members of Turkey's police and judiciary. Gulen denies orchestrating the graft investigation.

Erdogan's government has responded to the scandal by tightening controls of the Internet and the courts and reassigning thousands of police and hundreds of prosecutors and judges, often demoting them.