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Online Conduct, Association Risk, and Turkish Legal Safeguards
Dog Desk Animal Action is committed to open, evidence-based discussion about animal welfare. We welcome constructive criticism of policy, informed debate, and strong expressions of concern about cruelty, neglect, and enforcement failures.
At the same time, we operate in a legal environment where certain forms of public language can create serious legal and operational risks for our Turkish team members, local volunteers, partner veterinarians, municipal contacts, and the animals in our care.
This policy explains how we manage those risks while continuing to advocate strongly and responsibly for animals.
Legal Context
Certain provisions of the Turkish Penal Code criminalise public insults and degrading or dehumanising language directed at:
- the sitting President of the Republic
- public officials and civil servants
- state institutions and government bodies
- the Turkish nation
- national symbols
These include, among others:
- Article 299 — insulting the President
- Article 125 — insulting individuals or public officials
- Article 301 — insulting the Turkish nation or state institutions
- related laws protecting national symbols
These laws are actively enforced and may apply to online content published anywhere in the world, including social media posts, replies, and reposts
Responsibility and Association
Criminal liability generally attaches to the person who creates or republishes unlawful content. Dog Desk Animal Action is not legally responsible for statements made independently by third parties.
However, in practice, highly visible association with unlawful or highly derogatory language can create reputational, administrative, or operational consequences even where no offence has been committed by our organisation.
When such language appears:
- in replies to our posts
- in comments under our content
- in quote posts or tags referencing our accounts
- or alongside repeated sharing of our material
it may create the perception that our organisation is connected to, endorsing, or aligned with that content.
In environments where cooperation with local authorities and service providers is essential to rescue work, this perception alone can expose our teams to unnecessary risk.
Why This Matters for Our Work
Dog Desk Animal Action relies on practical, day-to-day cooperation with municipalities, shelters, veterinarians, and local partners to feed, treat, and protect animals.
Perceived association with unlawful or hostile content may result in:
- increased scrutiny of our staff and volunteers
- reduced cooperation or communication from municipalities or shelters
- delays or refusals of access to animals in need
- restrictions or removal of online content within Turkey
- legal or administrative pressure on individuals linked to our work
- disruption to rescue, medical, feeding, and rehoming operations
For an animal welfare organisation, these disruptions directly affect animals’ safety and survival.
Protecting operational access is therefore a safeguarding priority.
Our Safeguards
To minimise avoidable risk and ensure continuity of life-saving services, we may take reasonable moderation and engagement steps, including:
Comment and Reply Moderation
We may hide, limit visibility of, or remove replies, comments, or tags that:
- directly insult the President
- use severely derogatory or dehumanising language about public officials, municipalities, or state bodies
- target national symbols in a degrading or abusive manner
- contain wording widely recognised as likely to trigger prosecution under Turkish law
Repeated Risky Behaviour
We may ask users not to tag or involve our accounts in such content.
Accounts that repeatedly continue may be muted or blocked where necessary to protect our operations.
Amplification and Reposts
Dog Desk Animal Action carefully considers the accounts and content we choose to amplify.
We may limit or decline to repost, quote, collaborate with, or publicly engage with accounts that:
- routinely publish language likely to breach Turkish insult or public order laws, or
- frequently use degrading or dehumanising references to public officials, state institutions, or national symbols
even where a specific shared post appears compliant.
Repeated or visible association with such accounts can create the perception of alignment or endorsement and may expose our staff, volunteers, and partners to unnecessary legal or administrative risk.
For safeguarding and operational reasons, we may therefore decline to engage with or amplify accounts whose language or conduct could reasonably create legal or administrative risk for our teams or partners.
These decisions are based solely on safety and operational considerations, not on agreement or disagreement with political opinions or legitimate policy criticism.
Our Position on Advocacy and Free Expression
We recognise that some of these laws have been criticised internationally for their breadth and potential impact on freedom of expression.
We believe that:
- animal welfare policy should be open to scrutiny
- government decisions should be open to criticism
- advocacy and debate are essential for change
Nothing in this policy is intended to suppress legitimate criticism, reporting, or peaceful advocacy.
However, while these laws remain in force and actively enforced, we have a duty to reduce avoidable risks to the people working on the ground.
Protecting our ability to rescue and care for animals must come first.
How Supporters Can Help
We deeply value the passion and commitment of our community. The most effective ways to advocate safely include:
- sharing verified reports and evidence
- supporting rescue and veterinary campaigns
- engaging constructively, critically, and factually
- avoiding insults or dehumanising language when interacting with our accounts
By keeping the focus on animal welfare and practical solutions, we can maintain pressure for change without unnecessarily endangering those delivering that change.
Thank you for helping us protect both animals and the people who care for them.