Youtube ban lifted after videos insulting Ataturk removed

Ending an over two-year blackout, Turkey has lifted the ban on access to popular video-sharing website YouTube after a third party removed the videos that led to the prohibition. Access to YouTube had been cut off because several videos hosted by the site were deemed insulting to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. Officials said on Saturday that after getting confirmation from the National Police Department that the offending videos had been removed from the website, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ruled the ban lifted and asked the Telecommunications Directorate (TIB) to enable access to YouTube. YouTube was banned under a May 2008 court ruling that it broke the law on crimes against Ataturk.