Instagram Shock in Turkey: Mysterious Access Block and Censorship Allegations

Access to Instagram was blocked in Turkey on August 2, 2024. The reason for this decision, implemented by the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK), was not officially announced. However, a statement made by Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on social media pointed out the possible reasons behind the access block. Altun stated that after the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh, Instagram censored condolence messages regarding this incident and described this as “a very clear attempt at censorship“.

The access block was issued by BTK and is not linked to any court decision. This situation brought Turkey’s strict control over social media and similar censorship practices in the past to the agenda. In the past, access to sites such as YouTube and Wikipedia was blocked in Turkey for various reasons.

A day of national mourning was declared in Turkey on August 2 due to Haniye’s death. In this context, flags were lowered to half-mast and publications of various media organizations were examined.

This incident had wide repercussions in the international press and Turkey’s social media policies once again became the focus of criticism. Instagram’s parent company, Meta Platforms Inc. He did not make a statement on the issue.