The Access Providers Association Ordinary General Assembly was held on 30.03.2021 in the conference hall of the Information Technologies and Communications Authority.

The program was attended by Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Information Technologies and Communications Authority President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, Access Providers Union executives and members.

Speaking at the program, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan talked about the latest technological developments. Sayan stated that countries have started to establish cyber armies in the face of cyber threats and that strategic alliances have gained importance. In addition, during his speech, Sayan expressed that he closely followed the works carried out by the Access Providers Association, expressing his satisfaction with the works carried out, and especially emphasized that they would give all kinds of support.

Pointing out that the lack of development of international regulations in internet governance with a common perception and decision-making method increases the vulnerabilities, Sayan said, “This weakness offers malicious content producers different opportunities against cyber attacks, and provides a suitable ground for the development of propaganda of criminal organizations and terrorists. The presence of threats, especially terrorist propaganda, is increasing. Terrorist attacks with social media broadcasting also reveal how weak the self-control mechanisms of social network providers actually are. Those who manage social networks have to reconsider their corporate policies, develop stronger mechanisms, and have a distinct sensitivity to the shared values of humanity.”

Referring to the importance that cyber security should be ensured while the technology is in the design stage, Sayan said, “The issue should be looked at not only on the basis of technology, but also within the framework of increasing social responsibility projects that will increase the quality and quality of positive content produced with that technology. It is our duty to provide our youth and children with better content against harmful content on the Internet. In addition, we have to accept it as our debt to ensure the continuity of awareness trainings that will use the internet consciously, not as a duty but voluntarily,” in his remarks.

Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the Information Technologies and Communications Authority, also talked about the change in the dimension of technology with the effect of the pandemic. Expressing that they follow the developments closely as an institution, Karagözoğlu stated that, “With the contributions of you, our esteemed stakeholders, together with our Ministry, we follow the developments related to the internet closely and work to protect users, especially children, from the harms of the internet. Taking precautions against the risks and dangers posed by the internet environment and ensuring that our people can use technology safely are among the duties of all our institutions, especially you internet service providers. We need to work together as hard as we can to make the internet a better environment.”

 “The Access Providers Association has important duties to effectively fight crimes committed through broadcasts on the internet and to ensure that court decisions are enforced without delay, especially when it comes to violations of the personal rights of our citizens. Significant steps were taken to eliminate the grievances experienced in the internet environment. In coordination with our institution, these studies continue without slowing down,” he added.

In the later part of the program, the Board of Directors was formed. At the invitation of the Council Board, the current Access Providers Association Chairman of the Board Mehmet Çerikçi presented the activity report for the years 2019-2020 and the activities of the association during this period. Explaining the structure of the institution, Çerikçi also introduced the units that carry out the activities of the association with their work. Chairman of the Board of Auditors, Mustafa Çavuşoğlu, who took the floor after Çerikçi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, presented the audit report to the members. Later, an independent auditor presented the independent audit report to the members of the association. After the presentation of the independent audit report, the existing board of directors in 2019-2020 was acquitted. After the acquittal of the current board of directors, the election of the board of directors was started. As a result of the election, the new board of directors of the Access Providers Association was formed. According to the new election results, the members of the board of directors were formed as follows; Mutlu Korkmazer on behalf of Turkcell İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş., Yusuf Kıraç on behalf of Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş., Tevfik Özhan on behalf of Vodafone Telekomünikasyon A.Ş., Çağrı Yalçın on behalf of TT Mobil İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş., Serhat Erkoç on behalf of TT Net A.Ş., Mehmet Yılmaz Küçük on behalf of Superonline İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş, Hilal Keskiner on behalf of Vodafone Net İletişim Hizmetleri, Mehmet Çerikçi on behalf of Türksat A.Ş, Erkal Filiz on behalf of Demirören A.Ş., Türk Telekom International A.Ş adına Mustafa Eser, NetGSM İletişim ve Bilgi Teknolojileri adına Adem Öcal.