Türkiye’s government was due to hold talks with Instagram officials on Monday after blocking access to the social media platform last week, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said.
Instagram has been accused by the authorities both of censorship and of failing to remove posts the authorities deemed offensive. A senior Turkish official accused the platform of blocking condolence posts following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Uraloğlu said Türkiye had expressed certain sensitivities regarding compliance with Turkish laws in a previous meeting with representatives of Instagram, which is owned by Facebook parent Meta, last week.
“We will meet them this afternoon. We hope they will do what’s necessary to respond to our demands. We’re hoping for positive developments,” the minister said on social media platform X.
The minister said they had blocked access to Instagram because of “content-related offenses,” without giving details.
He maintained that Instagram had ignored “sensitivities” and was in breach of a so-called inventory of serious crimes, which include incitement to suicide, torture, obscenity, crimes against the state’s security and child sexual abuse, among others. He did not elaborate which particular crime the platform is alleged to have breached.
“When they don’t abide by laws and our regulations and don’t take our societal sensitivities into consideration, we are obliged to make the necessary interventions,” he said.
“When they fulfill the requirements, we will lift the ban,” he said.
For its part, Meta on Monday said it will do all it can to restore services.
“As a result of the block to Instagram in Türkiye, millions of people are being deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends, and businesses are no longer able to reach their customers in the same way,” a spokesperson for Meta said.
“We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services.”
Separately on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan harshly criticized social media companies, without naming Instagram, saying Türkiye has not received the desired level of cooperation despite previous talks.
“We witness firsthand how social media companies behave like the mafia whenever their interests are threatened. We are confronted with a form of digital fascism that bans photos of Palestinian martyrs instantly, yet markets this as freedom,” Erdoğan told an event in Ankara.
He accused these companies of “deliberately” withholding the “care they show in adhering to rules in America and Europe when it comes to Türkiye.”
“Those who do not criticize the scandals of social media platforms or speak against their fascism are lining up to complain about Türkiye to the Westerners,” Erdoğan added.
“As a government, we have no problem with anyone’s freedom, freedom of expression, job, livelihood, trade, or lifestyle,” said the president.
“If Türkiye’s legitimate demands are met and its sensitivities are respected, the issue will naturally be resolved on its own.”
Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on Wednesday criticized Instagram for “censorship, pure and simple,” over what he called its decision to bar condolence posts for Haniyeh after his assassination by Israel in Iran’s capital Tehran on July 31.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president. Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Türkiye ranks fifth in the world in terms of Instagram usage, with more than 57 million users, following India, the U.S., Brazil and Indonesia, according to data platform Statista.
Turkish e-commerce businesses association ETID estimates that Turkish businesses generate some TL 900 million ($27 million) in revenue from Instagram daily, vice chairman Emre Ekmekçi said.
If the ban continues, there will be a gradual shift in both sellers and users to other platforms, he said.
“We are hopeful the meeting will be positive and the parties will be able to find a solution. This is not just a political issue, there is also a commercial impact.”
