Turkish authorities have blocked access to Instagram over what some reports attributed to the social media platform's removal of condolences posts over Israel's assassination of Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), which regulates the internet, announced the block early Friday but did not provide a reason, and it was not initially clear for how long.
The BTK posted on its website that "instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on Aug. 2, 2024," without further details.
Yeni Şafak newspaper and other media said access was blocked in response to the platform removing posts by Turkish users that expressed condolences over the killing of Haniyeh.
"Sanctions for Instagram's blackout policy were swift. The Information Technologies and Communication Authority blocked access to Instagram," Yeni Şafak stated in its online edition.
Yet, a BTK official separately told Turkish media the restriction was because of "criminal content" on Instagram that the latter had been asked to withdraw.
It came days after Fahrettin Altun, the presidential communications director and aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, hit out at Meta-owned Instagram, accusing the platform of "impeding people from publishing messages of condolence for the martyr Haniyeh."
Altun added that Instagram had not cited any policy violations as a reason for its action.
"This is censorship, pure and simple," he said in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday after Haniyeh was killed with his bodyguard in a predawn strike on their accommodation in Tehran, fueling fears of a wider regional conflict.
"We will defend freedom of speech against these platforms that have shown many times that they are primarily in the service of a global exploitative system of injustice," Altun added.
An anonymous BTK source denied the move was due to Instagram blocking posts about Haniyeh, telling website Medyascope that it was over "insults to Atatürk," the founding father of modern Türkiye, and "crimes" including "drug games (and) paedophilia."
The source said the platform would be blocked permanently if it didn't resolve the problem.
There was no immediate comment from Instagram, which has over 50 million users in Türkiye, a nation with a population of 85 million.
The country is observing a day of mourning for Haniyeh on Friday, during which flags will be flown at half-staff.
Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. The killing has sent shockwaves around the world and prompted major protests in the region, including in Türkiye.
Haniyeh was Hamas's lead negotiator in efforts for a truce and hostage release deal for Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7.
He was a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and lastly visited him in Istanbul in April.
