Turkey has blocked access to the Instagram social media network, as announced by the national communications authority without providing a reason. This move comes after criticism of the US company by a high-ranking Turkish official.
The BTK communications authority posted on its website that “instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024”, but did not offer any further information.
Many users in Turkey reported being unable to refresh their Instagram feed, a fact confirmed by AFP journalists.
The communications director of the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun, recently accused Instagram, owned by Meta, of preventing people from posting messages of condolence for the late Ismail Haniyeh, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who was killed in Tehran on Wednesday.
Altun characterized this action as a clear attempt at censorship.
There are reportedly over 50 million Instagram users in Turkey out of a population of 85 million.
The decision to block Instagram sparked criticism and mockery on other social media platforms.
For instance, a meme mocking the situation began trending on one platform, showing a crowded metro station with the caption “When Turks wake up to find that Instagram is blocked”.
Some users humorously lamented the blocking of Instagram, joking about where they would now share their photoshopped images.
This is not the first time Turkish authorities have restricted access to social media platforms, with Wikipedia being blocked for nearly three years due to certain articles linking the presidency to extremism.
In April, Meta suspended its Threads social network in Turkey after authorities prohibited it from sharing information with Instagram.
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