Turkish government and Meta agree to work together to address government concerns, lifting Instagram ban after nine days

The Turkish government had blocked access to Instagram since August 2, 2024, for failing to comply with the country's 'laws and regulations.' However, on August 10, 2024, the Turkish government and Meta agreed to a cooperative relationship to address the government's concerns, and the Turkish government lifted the block on Instagram.

Turkey restores access to Instagram after 9-day block | Reuters

Inside Turkey's decision to block Instagram | Middle East Eye
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/inside-turkeys-decision-block-instagram

Turkey restores access to Instagram | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/10/turkey-restores-access-to-instagram/

It all started when the Turkish government took a pro-Hamas stance in the ongoing fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces and the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip in Palestine. When Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader, was killed in July 2024, the Turkish government expressed its condolences for Haniyeh by flying the flag at half-mast.

However, Instagram has restricted posts related to Haniya's death, with a Turkish government official saying, 'Instagram is deliberately preventing people from posting messages of condolence over the death of Hamas leader Haniya.' 'This is a clear and blatant act of censorship. We will continue to advocate for freedom of expression against a platform that promotes global exploitation and injustice.'

Our dear brother Ismail Haniyeh, political bureau chief of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, has faced death with the kind of humility that his enemies can never understand. He is one of the great heroes and a martyr for the Palestinian cause. May God bless his soul.…

— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) July 31, 2024

In response to this, Turkey's Communications and Information Technology Authority (BTK) took measures to prohibit access to Instagram.com from within the country from August 2, 2024.

Turkish government blocks domestic access to Instagram, claims posts about killing of Hamas leader were restricted - GIGAZINE

The Turkish government has stated that the blockage will be lifted immediately if Instagram complies with Turkish rules and laws, and Turkish government authorities have reportedly held two meetings with Instagram representatives, in the first week of August 2024 and on August 5.

On August 10, 2024 local time, Turkey's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, announced that 'the ban on Instagram will be lifted at 9:30 p.m. today, August 10.' Regarding the lifting of the ban, Uraloglu said, 'As a result of negotiations with Instagram officials, we have reached a cooperative relationship to meet our demands for censorship of users and 'catalog crimes', which include crimes such as murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking, abuse, and torture.'

Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devleti olarak;

Baştan beri sosyal medya platformlarının Türkiye Cumhuriyeti…

— Abdulkadir URALOĞLU (@a_uraloglu) August 10, 2024

It has since been reported that access to Instagram has indeed been restored.

Instagram'a erişim engeli kaldırılmıştır. pic.twitter.com/gPFRX1Yl1A

— Abdulkadir URALOĞLU (@a_uraloglu) August 10, 2024

In Turkey, access to Roblox , an online gaming platform that is extremely popular among children, has also been blocked since August 7, 2024. According to a BTK official, the reason for the blockage is that 'inappropriate sexual content that is considered to be child sexual exploitation was confirmed on Roblox.'

Turkey blocks Roblox after Instagram, due to child sexual exploitation content being spread - GIGAZINE