Turkiye Blocks Access to Instagram Amid Political Tensions

Turkiye's communications authority blocked access to Instagram, citing the removal of posts expressing condolences for Hama leader Ismail Haniyeh. This move follows criticism from a presidential aide. Turkiye, which does not classify Hamas as a terror organization, has a history of censoring social media.

Turkiye's communications authority has blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on Friday, marking the latest instance of a clampdown on websites within the country.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority, responsible for internet regulation, announced the block early Friday but did not provide a specific reason. However, Sabah newspaper, which is aligned with the government, reported that access was restricted after Instagram removed posts by Turkish users expressing condolences over the killing of Hama political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Just days prior, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun had criticized the Meta-owned platform for preventing users in Turkiye from posting messages of condolences for Haniyeh.

Unlike its Western allies, Turkiye does not consider Hamas to be a terror organization. President Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel's military actions in Gaza, has referred to the group as "liberation fighters." Friday was observed as a day of mourning for Haniyeh in Turkiye, with flags flown at half-staff.

Turkiye has an extensive history of censoring social media and websites. According to the Freedom of Expression Association, a non-profit organization of lawyers and human rights activists, hundreds of thousands of domains have been blocked since 2022. Notably, the video-sharing platform YouTube was blocked from 2007 to 2010.

(With inputs from agencies.)