Turkey has blocked access to Instagram, as announced by the national communications authority BTK on Friday.
This decision follows criticism from a high-ranking government official about the platform’s content management related to Hamas.
Fahrettin Altun, the communications director for the Turkish presidency, accused Instagram of “censoring” condolence posts regarding the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Altun claimed Instagram removed posts without citing specific policy violations, labeling the action as “censorship.”
Haniyeh, who was a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was killed in Tehran on Wednesday along with his bodyguard. Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel for the attack, though Israel has not commented.
The BTK did not specify the duration or detailed reasons for the ban.
With Instagram having over 50 million users in Turkey, many expressed frustration on X (formerly Twitter) about the inability to access the platform.
Yaman Akdeniz, a Turkish digital law expert, criticized the block as “arbitrary” and questioned its legality. The ban has sparked reactions on other social media platforms, with memes and posts mocking the situation.
Meta Platforms Inc, which owns Instagram, has not yet commented on the ban or Altun’s remarks.
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