Turkey blocked access to Instagram after it removed posts of Hamas chief

The national communications body of Turkey blocked access to Instagram after it removed posts of Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh. Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) blocked Instagram without providing specific justification.

The BTK stated on its website the organization blocked Instagram today. Fahrettin Altun, the director of communications for the Turkish presidency prompted this restriction.

This blockage came after Fahrettin accused Instagram of filtering posts concerning Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Iran. He referred to him as a “martyr.”

Filistin direniş hareketi Hamas'ın siyasi büro şefi İsmail Heniye, düşmanlarının asla anlayamayacağı bir tevazuyla şehadete yürüdü. Filistin davasının en büyük kahramanlarından biri olarak tarihe geçen şehidimize Allah’tan rahmet diliyoruz. İslam aleminin ve Filistin’in başı…
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) July 31, 2024

Fahrettin also stated on Twitter X that this is censorship, pure and simple. Instagram had not provided a reason for its action based on policy violations.

However, it is uncertain if access to Instagram has been blocked in Turkey due to the removal of content regarding the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

He fell victim to the assassination on July 31, 2024, allegedly by Israel which raised sentiments in Muslim countries including Iran and Turkey. There is outrage among Muslim nations against his murder which led them to vent anger on social media. Instagram reportedly removed this content.

Meanwhile, Turkish news outlet Medyascope stated govt has blocked Instagram due to its inability to delete illegal information on topics like sexual abuse of a child.

According to Medyascope, Instagram also failed to remove insulting remarks about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (founder of Turkey) and items on “gambling and drugs.”

*Turkey reportedly blocked Instagram due to its non-removal of objectionable content*

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Medyascope claimed that an unnamed BTK representative warned Instagram against objectionable content removal. However, when the Meta-owned platform did not remove that content, it led to the ban.

The BTK representative reportedly informed Medyascope that they provided certain time frames to Instagram. They reserve the right to restrict access if the objectionable content is not removed within this time frame.

On the other hand, the Western world considered this ban a representation of “Draconian law” which the Turkish government passed days back to gain control of digital platforms.