Turkey blocks access to Instagram. Reports say it's in response to removal of posts on Hamas chief.
Turkey’s communications authority blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on Friday, the latest instance of a clampdown on websites in the country.
Turkey’s communications authority blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on Friday, the latest instance of a clampdown on websites in the country.
The Information and Communication Technologies Authority, which regulates the internet, announced the block early Friday but did not provide a reason.
Sabah newspaper, which is close to the government, said access was blocked in response to Instagram removing posts by Turkish users that expressed condolences over the killling of Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
It came days after Fahrettin Altun, the presidential communications director and aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, criticized the Meta-owned platform for preventing users in Turkey from posting messages of condolences for Haniyeh.
Unlike its Western allies, Turkey does not consider Hamas to be a terror organization. A strong critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, Erdogan has described the group as “liberation fighters.”
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