The sudden restriction has left millions of users unable to access the app, with no official explanation or timeline for the ban provided by the authorities.
Turkey has blocked access to the social media platform Instagram, the country’s information and technology regulator announced on Friday.
The sudden restriction has left millions of users unable to access the app, with no official explanation or timeline for the ban provided by the authorities.
Reuters reports that the decision comes after Turkish communications official Fahrettin Altun criticised Instagram on Wednesday for allegedly blocking condolence posts related to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a key official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Altun, the communications director for the Turkish presidency, on X, said, “This is censorship, pure and simple.”
He noted that Instagram had not provided any policy violations to justify its actions.
Meanwhile, Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), the parent company of Instagram, has not immediately responded to the ban or Altun’s remarks.
Turkey’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) published the decision on its website on August 2