Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) on Friday blocked access to Instagram, escalating its ongoing clampdown on websites. The ICTA, which oversees internet regulation, announced the decision without explanation. According to Yeni Safak, a government-aligned newspaper, and other media, the move came after Instagram’s removal of posts by Turkish users expressing condolences over the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Many Turkish users reported issues accessing Instagram. On Wednesday, Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency’s communications director, criticized Instagram, accusing it of “impeding people from publishing messages of condolence for the martyr Haniyeh”.
Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political chief and an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was killed in an attack in Tehran on Wednesday, allegedly by Israel.
Turkey’s history of social media cencorship
Turkey, with over 50 million Instagram users in its 85 million population, has a history of social media restrictions. From April 2017 to January 2020, Wikipedia was blocked due to articles linking the presidency to extremism. This suspension shocked many, as it significantly limited online information access.
In April, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, suspended its Threads social network in Turkey after authorities prevented it from sharing information with Instagram.
(With inputs from agencies)