Türkiye blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on August 2 because it failed to comply with the country’s “laws and rules.”
The platform was accused of blocking condolence posts after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas, by a senior Turkish official.
“We warned Instagram about certain offenses. We want some rules to be followed. We intervene when they disregard legal rules and public sensitivities,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu. “We are in contact with them. Our sensitivities are clear, and as soon as they correct those shortcomings, we will remove the ban. This is a country with laws and rules,” Uraloglu added. He did not clarify what the shortcomings were. Access to Instagram has been restricted in Turkey following the ban implemented by authorities following a court order on Friday, according to internet observatory NetBlocks. Turkish communications official Fahrettin Altun on Wednesday criticized Instagram for what he called its decision to block condolence posts after Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. “This is censorship, pure and simple,” Altun, the communications director of the Turkish presidency, said.
Instagram ban may impact e-commerce volume
The Instagram access ban implemented by Turkey since August 2 would significantly impact social media transactions, accounting for 10% of the country’s total e-commerce. Vice Chair of the Association of E-Commerce Operators (ETİD), Emre Ekmekçi, shared this information with TV channel CNBC-e.
Ekmekçi mentioned that if influencers were included in the e-commerce activities on social media equating to 930 million Turkish liras per day, a volume of 1.9 billion liras ($57.4B) could be affected by the ban.
“It will not be completely lost, but it will shift to another time or platform,” he added.
