In Ankara, Turkey, the country’s communications authority has taken the decision to block access to the popular social media platform Instagram. This move is part of a series of internet restrictions being imposed in Turkey. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority, responsible for internet regulation, made the announcement without providing a specific reason for the block.
Reports from Yeni Safak newspaper, which has ties to the government, and other media outlets suggest that the ban on Instagram came after the platform removed posts from Turkish users offering condolences following the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Yeni Safak online mentioned that the decision to block Instagram was in response to the platform’s actions.
Fahrettin Altun, the presidential communications director and an aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had criticized Instagram earlier for restricting users in Turkey from expressing condolences for Haniyeh. Instagram, which boasts over 50 million users in Turkey, has not yet commented on the situation.
Turkey’s stance on Hamas differs from that of its Western allies, as it does not classify the group as a terrorist organization. Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israeli military actions in Gaza, views Hamas as “freedom fighters.” The country is currently observing a day of mourning for Haniyeh, with flags being flown at half-staff.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a member of the main opposition party in Turkey, condemned the decision to block Instagram. He accused the communications authority of behaving like a censorship unit and emphasized the importance of social media as a versatile platform used for various purposes, including commerce and communication.
Turkey has a history of censoring social media and websites, with hundreds of thousands of domains being blocked since 2022, as reported by the Freedom of Expression Association. The video-sharing platform YouTube was also banned in Turkey from 2007 to 2010.
