Instagram Suspended in Turkey Over Censorship Claims by Senior Official

According to X social network and Agence France-Presse journalists, numerous Turkish users are experiencing issues refreshing their Instagram feeds, raising concerns about broader restrictions underway in Turkey.

Bewilderment Over Sudden Instagram Outage in Turkey

On Friday, August 2, Instagram unexpectedly went down in Turkey.

The outage, detected by various Turkish users and AFP journalists, was confirmed by Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) on their website, with no clear explanation provided.

Turkish Government Accused of Censorship

The disruption follows tense remarks by Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency’s communications director, who criticized the American platform for allegedly blocking posts expressing condolences for the “martyrdom of [Hamas leader Ismail] Haniyeh.”

Altun described this as “a very clear and obvious attempt at censorship.” However, the policies of Instagram, along with Facebook and other social networks, explicitly prohibit any support or glorification of entities recognized as terrorist organizations by the United States.

Instagram’s Major Role in Turkey

This blockage could significantly impact Turkey, where Instagram boasts over 50 million users out of a population of 85 million. It has also sparked strong outrage and satirical reactions among netizens, who deem the action “arbitrary” and “inexplicable.”

A Pattern of Censorship

This is not the first time Turkish authorities have blocked social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter have faced similar restrictions, usually following terror attacks.

Moreover, in April, American giant Meta announced the suspension of its social network Threads in Turkey following a ruling by the Turkish competition authority to prevent data sharing with Instagram. Such repeated disruptions underscore ongoing concerns about freedom of expression under Erdogan’s government.