Social Media Apps Ban: The Turkish government has temporarily blocked access to several major social media platforms.
Social Media Apps Ban: The Turkish government has temporarily blocked access to several major social media platforms. According to reports, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and WhatsApp were banned after clashes broke out between police and opposition supporters in Istanbul. During this time, internet speeds across the country were slow for 12 hours. The protests flared up when a government-appointed trustee tried to take control of the headquarters of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The ban came into effect after security forces used pepper spray to remove protesters. Many users were seen trying to avoid the ban by resorting to VPN. This development is similar to the recent social media ban in Nepal, where the government banned 26 platforms and the situation worsened so much that a curfew had to be imposed.
Why was social media banned in Turkey?
According to Euronews report, the CHP’s Istanbul headquarters were surrounded by party supporters for several days. Their aim was to prevent trustee Gursel Tekin from taking control of the office. Tekin was appointed by the government to replace Ozgur Celik, who was elected in September 2023.
Although talks are going on between the two parties, internet access remains unstable throughout the country. Usually Turkey’s Information and Communication Technology Authority (BTK) issues a statement when a website or app is blocked, but this time there was no such official announcement. There was no mention of any ban on BTK’s website either. Still, by 5 pm on Monday, YouTube, X, Instagram and WhatsApp had stopped working in Istanbul. People in some other provinces reported that the services were running.
Increased pressure on the opposition
Since March, the government has been targeting the opposition party CHP. After Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to jail, several other leaders were also detained. Meanwhile, critics allege that the government wants to hand over the command of the party to former president Kemal Kilicdaroglu again while the current chief Ozgur Ozal was elected in late 2023.
The hearing to be held in mid-September will decide whether Kilicdaroglu will return or not. However, experts say that if this happens, there may be more division in the party. Interestingly, even if he returns, Ozal still remains a strong contender in the extraordinary congress to be held on September 21.
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