Turkey restores access to Instagram after nine-day block
Turkey announced on Saturday that it has restored access to social media platform Instagram, after the company pledged to work with authorities to address government concerns.
Turkey blocked access to the social media platform on August 2, saying it did not comply with the country’s “laws and regulations” and raised public sensitivities.
A senior Turkish official has accused Instagram of blocking condolence messages over the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Turkey has condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire and criticized what it called the West’s unconditional support for Israel.
The nine-day ban sparked protests from users and small businesses that reach their customers through the platform.
According to data platform Statista, Turkey ranks fifth in the world in terms of Instagram usage, with over 57 million users, after India, the United States, Brazil and Indonesia.
“As a result of our negotiations with Instagram officials, we will lift the access block…after they promised to work together to meet our demands regarding catalog crime and user censorship,” Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a post on X.
Turkish law includes crimes such as murder, assault, drug trafficking, ill-treatment and torture.
“Significant gains have been made in increasing security in Turkey’s digital environment, legal compliance, protection of user rights and development of a fair inspection mechanism,” Uraloglu said.
Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has agreed to abide by Turkish law and ensure that posts and content containing elements of certain crimes or “terrorist propaganda” are efficiently removed, Uraloglu said.
Instagram was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.
“Live statistics show that Instagram is being restored to Turkey’s major internet providers after a nine-day nationwide restriction, the longest ban of a major social media platform in the country in recent years,” internet monitor NetBlocks said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
