Türkiye's government held talks with Instagram officials on Monday after blocking access to the social media platform last week, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said.
The meeting came as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fiercely criticized social media companies and accused them of "fascism" and censorship, saying they sought to "muzzle the Palestinian people's voices."
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.
Türkiye has denounced Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza, called for an immediate cease-fire, and criticized what it calls unconditional support for Israel by the West.
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.
In a later statement on Monday, Minister Uraloğlu said they have not reached the desired results and are still actively engaged in talks.
“We do not believe there will be any progress today,” he said.
Uraloğlu said on Friday that Instagram had been suspended for ignoring demands to remove "criminal content."
An anonymous Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) source said this included "insults to Atatürk," the founding father of modern Türkiye, "drug games (and) pedophilia."
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.
The Malaysian government also said Monday it had met with Meta representatives to demand an apology and explanation as to why posts about the death of Haniyeh were removed from the prime minister's social media accounts.
"We are facing a digital fascism that has no tolerance for even the photographs of Palestinian martyrs and bans them immediately," Erdoğan told an event in Ankara on Monday, citing the killing of Haniyeh.
"They are resorting to every means to hide Israel's cruelty and muzzle the Palestinian people's voices. Especially social media companies have literally become militants," he said.
Uraloğlu said the government is "obliged to make the necessary interventions" when the companies "don't abide by laws and our regulations and don't take our societal sensitivities into consideration."
"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."
Erdoğan said Türkiye has not received the desired level of cooperation despite previous talks with social media companies.
He said these networks "respect the rules in America and Europe but deliberately ignore them when it comes to fighting unlawful content in 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."
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 Chair 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."
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's office said his posts on Facebook and Instagram about Haniyeh's death had been removed last week by Meta.
Anwar's posts included a video showing the premier on a phone call with a Hamas official, offering his condolences.
On Instagram, there was a note by Meta, shared by Anwar, that the posts were taken down because of association with "dangerous individuals and organizations."
In a statement on Monday, the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said it "views Meta's actions as discriminatory, unjust, and a blatant suppression of free expression."
"It is also seen as an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people in their pursuit of justice and human rights."
The PMO said it was demanding a public apology and a detailed explanation from Meta.
Anwar accused the tech giant of "cowardice" last week for removing his posts.
Malaysian authorities have previously chided Meta for removing posts as well as for not taking down what officials deemed as harmful content fast enough.
Last year, Human Rights Watch said "Meta's policies and practices were silencing voices in support of Palestine and Palestinian human rights on Instagram and Facebook."
