Istanbul, August 11: Turkey banned Meta's Instagram platform across the country for nine days. The Turkish government said that Instagram did not meet the requirements. Due to the ban, Instagram users suffered, especially the female entrepreneurs who relied on the platform to sell items ranging from cookies, beg sheets and more. Human Rights Watch also said that Turkey's banning of social media platforms violated free speech. 

Instagram was banned by The Information and Communication Technologies Authority in Turkey on August 2. Government officials said that the social media platform was banned due to the failure to comply with Turkish law, according to a report by CNBCTV18. After nine days, the government of Turkey lifted the ban on Instagram as the platform agreed to comply with the regulations. Richard Dawkins Says His Facebook Account Deleted for Posting His Opinion, Elon Musk Responds Saying ‘Wow’.

Abdulkadir Uraloglu, minister of Turkey's transportation and infrastructure, reportedly said that the government officials were assured after talking with Instagram officials regarding criminal activities and that both parties agreed to work together on censoring users. The minister further said that all the accounts owned by "terrorist" organisations would be blocked, and the promotion of such organisations would be removed from the platform. 

The report said that Abdulkadir Uraloglu hinted at the outlawed terrorist organisations such as PKK, PYD and FETO. A Kurdistan Workers Party known as the "PKK" waged an insurgency against the country for decades with the intention of establishing an autonomous region in southern Turkey. The PYD group is a Syrian Kurdish political organisation which was referred to as an arm of the PKK by the Turkish government. Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), led by Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of President Recap Tayyip Erdogan, is another group that is against the country. WhatsApp New Feature Update: Meta-Owned Platform Tests New Event Duration Feature for Community Group Chats To Effectively Manage Events.

According to a report by The Daily Star, Turkey has been critical of Israel for attacking Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire. The report said that Instagram was also blocked for not letting condolence posts on the death of Ismail Haniyeh, who was the leader of the Hamas militant group. 

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 11, 2024 10:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).