Turkey has blocked access to Instagram, the country’s infotech regulator announced on Friday. The regulator did not specify the reason or duration for the ban, which also rendered the platform’s mobile app inaccessible.
The decision came after Turkish communications director Fahrettin Altun criticized Instagram on Wednesday for allegedly blocking condolence posts related to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a key official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“This is censorship, pure and simple,” Altun stated on X, asserting that Instagram had not provided any policy violation to justify its actions.
As of now, Instagram’s parent company, Meta Platforms Inc., has not commented on the ban or Altun’s remarks.
Turkey’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) posted the decision on its website on August 2.