Türkiye Reinstates Instagram After Nationwide Ban

Türkiye restored access to Instagram on Saturday evening, ending a nationwide blockade that had lasted more than a week.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority initially blocked Instagram on Aug. 2 without giving a specific reason. Government officials later revealed that the ban was due to the platform’s failure to comply with Turkish regulations.

“During our talks with Instagram representatives, we were assured that our requests would be met, especially those related to criminal activity, and were promised that we would work together on how to censor users,” Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Turkey’s minister of transport and infrastructure, wrote on social media platform X on Saturday.

Uraloglu also posted a video on X explaining that the platform aims to ensure compliance with Turkish law and intervene quickly and effectively in cases of violations. He added that all accounts belonging to “terrorist” organizations will be blocked, pointing to the PKK, PYD and FETO.

The PKK is an illegal group seeking autonomy in southeastern Turkey, while the PYD is a Syrian Kurdish political organization believed to be affiliated with the PKK. FETO, led by Fethullah Gülen, is accused of organizing a failed coup attempt in 2016.

According to industry estimates, Instagram has more than 57 million users in Turkey and the social media platform generates around 930 million Turkish lira (27 million U.S. dollars) in e-commerce daily.

(Based on information from the agency.)