Why Instagram was blocked and unblocked in Türkiye?

On the morning of August 2, millions of Turkish users found that Instagram had been blocked. By 9:30 PM on August 10, access to the platform was restored. However, the reasons for the block, and the circumstances leading to its lifting, remain shrouded in mystery.

One popular theory suggests that the ban was triggered by a message posted by Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, expressing condolences for the assassination of a Hamas leader Haniyeh in Tehran.

Yet, another rumour suggests that this might not have been the case at all. According to this speculation, Altun had posted a condemnation message because Instagram had blocked some radical posts from ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members. This message was then reportedly used by a discredited bureaucrat, looking to regain favour, to push for the platform’s blockage.

Was it really that simple? Or were there other factors at play? We don’t know for sure, as neither Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) nor AKP, nor Meta, offered any explanations throughout the process.

However, on August 10, around 8:00 PM, when the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure posted on Twitter that he would soon make an important announcement, everyone already knew what the message would be.

Instagram ban lifted: But what did the agreement really achieve?

Instagram had been inaccessible for eight days. During this period, Dr. Buğra Gökçe, head of the Istanbul Planning Agency, reported that approximately 500,000 small businesses suffered nearly 15 billion TL (appx.500 millions $) in losses.

While people were struggling both as buyers and sellers, we saw no legal document justifying the ban.

Instead, AKP officials repeated their usual vague rhetoric about “homeland, nation, or “terror” but everyone understood that it was related to messages about the death of the Hamas leader—a topic that only seemed relevant to AKP members and not to the majority of the country.

So, in exchange for the economic loss of nearly 15 billion TL and over a week of public discomfort, what did AKP officials gain from Instagram that could be seen as a public good?

Minister Uraloğlu announced the reopening of Instagram in a tense tone, reading from a prepared statement. However, there was nothing new in the points he presented.

Here’s a summary of what the Minister read as “the conditions accepted by Instagram”:

1. Content and posts that fall under the category of “catalog crimes” as defined by Turkish law will be promptly removed.
2. Compliance with Türkiye’s legal system will be ensured, with rapid and effective intervention in the event of legal violations.
3. Accounts will not be closed without prior warning.
4. The rights and accounts of Turkish users will be protected.
5. Accounts that were closed without warning will be reactivated.
6. Propaganda by terrorist organizations such as the PKK, PYD, and FETÖ will not be allowed on Instagram.
7. Posts violating Turkish laws will be removed from Instagram.
8. In case of any legal issues, Instagram will promptly contact the authorities.

Meta was already implementing these measures. So, what’s new?

Looking closely at these points; Meta’s latest report, published on July 31, shows that they employ 40,000 people globally, including 15,000 full-time staff, for content moderation. This means that the points 1, 2, 6, and 7, as announced by the Minister, are actions already being carried out. For instance, it’s known that messages related to the PKK are automatically blocked because it is classified as a terrorist organization.

Below are detailed figures on the content removal actions taken by Meta between January 1 and June 30, 2024.

AKP officials had been looking for ways to lift the ban

The points 3, 4, and 5 announced by the Minister mention “closed accounts.” To comment on this, we need to know which accounts were closed. Were accounts actually closed, and if so, why—was it due to radical content?

Was the 8th point added just to fill space? Isn’t Meta already in constant contact with the authorities anyway?

It’s worth noting that Binali Yıldırım, former Prime Minister, who once said, “The internet poisons when not properly regulated,” also praised Facebook’s content removal performance, saying, “Facebook is the best for performance.”

Sources close to the matter tell us that AKP officials had been looking for ways to lift the ban for days, but to avoid prolonging the issue further—possibly due to the President’s displeasure—they decided it was best to make such an announcement and reopen the platform.

In summary, they blocked it themselves, realized the public discomfort and even AKP fanatics were losing money, and in the end, they reopened it themselves.

Instagram did not touch Ersoy’s post

I didn’t see Fahrettin Altun’s blocked message—if it existed. But we all saw his condemnation message on X. Now, we can look at Instagram. Two days before the block, on July 31, Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy’s message was left untouched.

Only a label saying “This post goes against our Community Guidelines but has been left on Instagram for public awareness” was added underneath.

When Instagram reopened, it was seen that Fahrettin Altun also posted a new message for the Hamas leader, dated after the reopening. It hasn’t been labeled yet, but it appears to be a simple message.

If they were going to reopen it, “Why did we go through this mess?”

You might ask, why did they close it? If they closed it, how did they reopen it?

A speculation circulating in BTK circles that reached us goes as follows; a deputy minister who was about to be dismissed saw Altun’s “they blocked the message” statement as an opportunity to regain favor and used it to target Instagram.

This might also explain why President Erdoğan turned to the Ministry of Transport instead of Altun and said, “You put us in great trouble,” and why the announcement was made by the minister himself instead of BTK officials.

Because the scope of the impact, as expressed by Dr. Gökçe, reaching 500,000 small businesses across Anatolia, angered both the AKP and President Erdoğan. Therefore, it seems that the attempt to curry favor backfired.

In the end, as they were figuring out how to get out of the Instagram blockage, which they didn’t foresee the dimensions of in advance, they probably had to reopen it hastily.

Yaman Akdeniz: “All we’ve received are empty promises”

We asked Prof. Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, representing the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), which regularly publishes annual reports on access restrictions, for his thoughts on this announcement.

He responded:

“Minister Uraloğlu stated that ‘our demands regarding catalog crimes would be met,’ but there’s still no explanation as to why these demands weren’t addressed from the start. Even after eight days, it remains unclear which specific catalog crimes Instagram failed to act on and what exactly will be removed now.

Furthermore, the Minister mentioned that Meta promised ‘to collaborate on censorship imposed on users.’ This suggests that the issue has revolved around the condolence messages for Ismail Haniyeh all along. In this regard, it appears that all we’ve received are empty promises.

From my perspective, it seems that it’s the Ministry and Türkiye rather than Meta, that found themselves in a difficult position over Instagram and had to backtrack. Frankly, I can’t interpret this announcement in any other way.

At this point, Meta should also step forward to inform the public and users, clarify this agreement from their standpoint, and break the silence that has persisted since the beginning of this process.”

Is the aim to make people forget the stray animals law?

We can’t help but mention this.

Some users on X are commenting that “it (instagram ban) was done to make people forget the stray animal euthanasia law that was recently passed by the Turkish Parliament (TBMM). What the AKP knows best is to change the subject and agenda.”

But is it enough to change the domestic agenda?

The vast majority of the country is in revolt about this law that has started to be applied to stray animals. The Instagram block was of course very important, but it could not make people forget the law enacted by the AKP to eliminate stray animals. The vast majority of people in the country are in revolt because of this law and its application.