Turkey Restores Instagram Access After a 9-Day Ban

Meta has welcomed Turkey’s move to lift a 9 day ban on its social media platform, Instagram. Communication shared on its platforms following the lifting of the Meta Turkey ban shows that the big tech company continues to discuss accounts and content that violate Turkish policies with authorities.

According to USNews, the Meta Turkey ban was lifted and Instagram access was restored on Saturday after 9 days. The ban on the social media platform was lifted after Meta agreed to cooperate with Turkish authorities to address concerns raised by the government.

Pleased to be Back

In a statement published by Meta, the big tech company said it was happy with the decision to restore Instagram in Turkey and expressed commitment to act on violations.

“We are pleased to see that Instagram is back up and running in Turkey. We remain in dialogue with the authorities and will continue to take action on any violating content and accounts. This includes removing content that violates our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy and applying newsworthy allowances where appropriate,” Meta spokesperson said.

User Protests

The Turkey Meta ban was effected on August 2. Turkish authorities blocked Instagram access after Meta failed to comply with laws and rules of the country.

A complaint from a high-ranking Turkish official also triggered the Meta Turkey ban. The official accused Instagram of blocking posts with condolence messages following the assassination of the leader of Palestinian’s Hamas militant group, Ismail Haniyeh.

The move to ban Instagram triggered protests from Turkish small businesses and users who rely on the platform to reach customers. On one occasion, a woman who criticized the Instagram ban was arrested and charged with insulting the president and inciting hatred following a court order.

Policy Matters

After the Instagram ban was lifted in Turkey, Meta said it has not changed its policy about content. However, the company has agreed to review the validity of actions that were taken regarding the accounts and content that violated its policy in Turkey in the days that followed Haniyeh’s death.

The company says newsworthy considerations were applied to Instagram posts made by Turkish politicians in line with its standard approach.

Meta maintains visibility of policy-violating content when it’s in the interest of the public interest or newsworthy. Turkey has a population of 85 million people and over 50 million registered Instagram users.