Turkey has blocked access to popular social media platform Instagram without providing any explanation, according to the national communications authority. The move comes after Fahrettin Altun, a high-ranking Turkish communications official, accused the US company of censorship.
Altun criticized Instagram on Wednesday for allegedly blocking condolence posts related to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a prominent official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“This is censorship, pure and simple,” Altun said on X, claiming that Instagram had not cited any policy violations for its action.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Hamas and a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was killed in Tehran on Wednesday in an attack attributed to Israel. Altun accused Instagram of “impeding people from publishing messages of condolence for the martyr Haniyeh,” calling it “a very clear and obvious attempt at censure.”
Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Instagram, has not yet commented on either the ban or Altun’s comments.
The Turkish Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) announced the decision to block Instagram on its website, dated August 2, 2024, without providing further details. Many users in Turkey reported difficulties in refreshing their Instagram feed.
According to Turkish media, there are over 50 million Instagram users in Turkey, out of a total population of 85 million. The decision to block the platform has sparked mockery and criticism on other social media networks, such as X.
This is not the first instance of Turkish authorities blocking access to social media sites. Wikipedia was blocked in the country between April 2017 and January 2020 due to two articles that alleged a link between the presidency and extremism.
In April, Meta suspended its Threads social network in Turkey following a decision by authorities to prevent it from sharing information with Instagram.
Altun criticized Instagram on Wednesday for allegedly blocking condolence posts related to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a prominent official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“This is censorship, pure and simple,” Altun said on X, claiming that Instagram had not cited any policy violations for its action.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Hamas and a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was killed in Tehran on Wednesday in an attack attributed to Israel. Altun accused Instagram of “impeding people from publishing messages of condolence for the martyr Haniyeh,” calling it “a very clear and obvious attempt at censure.”
Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Instagram, has not yet commented on either the ban or Altun’s comments.
The Turkish Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) announced the decision to block Instagram on its website, dated August 2, 2024, without providing further details. Many users in Turkey reported difficulties in refreshing their Instagram feed.
According to Turkish media, there are over 50 million Instagram users in Turkey, out of a total population of 85 million. The decision to block the platform has sparked mockery and criticism on other social media networks, such as X.
This is not the first instance of Turkish authorities blocking access to social media sites. Wikipedia was blocked in the country between April 2017 and January 2020 due to two articles that alleged a link between the presidency and extremism.
In April, Meta suspended its Threads social network in Turkey following a decision by authorities to prevent it from sharing information with Instagram.