After being blocked for more than a week, the online platform Instagram is freely accessible again in Turkey. Turkish Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced on X on Thursday that the ban had been lifted.
The agreement with Meta, Instagram’s parent company, was reached regarding the removal of content that is considered criminal under Turkish law. Meta initially did not comment on the reopening of the platform.
The Turkish government had accused Meta of allowing content such as sexual abuse, advertising for gambling and insults against the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. This led to the blocking of Instagram on Friday of the previous week.
In Turkey, the platform has since only been accessible via VPN. Around 57 million people in Turkey use Instagram. The platform was also accused of censorship after Instagram blocked messages of condolence for the slain Hamas foreign chief Ismail Haniya.
Ankara reacted with outrage, as Turkey has close relations with Hamas. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had only received Haniya in Istanbul in April. After his killing in Tehran, the Turkish government ordered a one-day state mourning.
news-source"> Quelle: Eulerpool Research Systems
