Turkey blocked access to the social network Instagram early Friday, August 2, without official justification, but after accusations of censorship from a senior Turkish official against the American platform.
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The decision was announced on its website by the Turkish Information and Communications Technology Authority (BTK), which provided no explanation.
The Turkish presidency’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, had sharply criticized the platform on Wednesday, saying that it ” prevents people from posting messages of condolence for the martyrdom of (Hamas leader Ismail) Haniyeh ” who must to be buried on Friday in Qatar.
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a day of national mourning in memory of Ismail Haniyeh, killed Wednesday in Tehran in an attack blamed on Israel, who frequently resided in Turkey before October 7.
” This is a very clear and obvious attempt at censorship. “, denounced Fahrettin Altun on the social network X.
The Turkish Communications Authority published a decision on its website stating that ” instagram.com has been blocked by a decision dated 02/08/2024 “, without further details.
Many users residing in Türkiye reported Friday morning on X that they were unable to refresh their Instagram feed, a blockage also noted by AFP journalists.
Turkish authorities have repeatedly resorted in recent years to temporarily blocking certain social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter (former name of X), generally after attacks. The American giant Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced in mid-April that it was suspending its social network Threads in Turkey after a decision by the Turkish Competition Authority aimed at preventing the sharing of data with its other platform Instagram.
According to Turkish media, Instagram has more than 50 million followers in Turkey, among 85 million inhabitants.