Turkey Blocks Access To Instagram Without Stating Reason Or Duration

In a surprise move, Turkey (Türkiye) blocked access to Instagram for its citizens. The development follows censorship accusations against the US social media platform by a high-ranking Turkish official.

The BTK communications authority, the country’s infotech regulator, announced the ban, leaving the platform’s mobile app inaccessible. BTK published the August 2 decision on its website without stating any reason (or duration) for the ban.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Turkish communications official Fahrettin Altun, had slammed the Meta-owned platform for “blocking condolence posts on the killing of Ismail Haniyeh”, a key official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “This is censorship, pure and simple,” he alleged.