Turkey has blocked access to social media platform Instagram.
The announcement came from the infotech regulator on Friday, without stating a reason or duration for the ban. The platform’s mobile app is also inaccessible.
The decision comes after comments by Turkish communications official Fahrettin Altun, criticising the platform for what he called its decision to block condolence posts on the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a key official of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“This is censorship, pure and simple,” Altun, the communications director of the Turkish presidency, said on X. He added that Instagram had not cited any policy violations for its action.
There was no immediate comment from Instagram parent Meta Platforms Inc on either the ban or Altun’s comments.
Turkey’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) published the Aug. 2 decision on its website.
