Türkiye - August 2024

The government-controlled Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) blocked Instagram on 2 August without an official explanation or a court order, violating users’ rights to freedom of expression and access to information. Approximately 50 million of Türkiye's 85 million citizens use Instagram. The reason for the ban is unclear, but the move followed accusations from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's communications director, who claimed Meta, Instagram's parent company, had removed condolence messages about Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas political leader, killed in Iran. Some officials attributed the ban to Instagram’s failure to remove alleged criminal content. Türkiye's internet law grants authorities wide-ranging powers to block websites, and the country has previously restricted access to platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Wikipedia, with the European Court of Human Rights and Türkiye’s Constitutional Court ruling such actions violated free expression. Instagram access was restored on 10 August after an unspecified agreement with Meta. The Transportation and Infrastructure Minister, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, stated that Instagram assured compliance with government requests on criminal activity and user censorship.

Sources: Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, Human Rights Watch, Hurriyet, Euronews