Turkey bans Instagram

(MENAFN) The Turkish government has imposed a ban on Instagram following allegations of censorship related to the recent assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. The country's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) announced on Friday that access to the social media platform has been blocked, although no specific reasons or duration for the ban were provided.

The move follows criticism from Fahrettin Altun, Turkey’s communications chief, who accused Instagram of censoring posts related to Haniyeh’s death. Haniyeh was killed in a bombing in Tehran on Wednesday, an event that has stirred controversy and accusations from Hamas and Iran that Israel was behind the attack. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement but has vowed to combat threats from Islamist groups.

Altun condemned Instagram for allegedly preventing users from posting condolences for Haniyeh, calling the platform’s actions a blatant attempt at censorship. He emphasized Ankara’s commitment to defending freedom of expression against what he described as platforms that support a global system of exploitation and injustice.

Instagram, owned by Meta, has millions of users in Turkey, with approximately 58 million active accounts in a country of 83 million people as of early 2024. This is not the first time Turkey has restricted access to social media; previous bans have included Twitter and YouTube in 2014, following the circulation of leaked videos implicating high-level government officials in corruption.

The current Instagram ban underscores ongoing tensions between Turkish authorities and social media platforms over issues of content moderation and freedom of speech.

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