Türkiye blocks popular reading, writing platform Wattpad

Türkiye blocked access to Wattpad, a Canadian-origin story-writing and reading platform, according to a decision by Ankara 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace.

Wattpad, founded in Canada’s Toronto in 2006, quickly gained popularity globally as a platform for sharing stories and poems. As of Tuesday, July 17, it has been banned in Türkiye.

Professor Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, a founding member of the Freedom of Expression Association (IFOD), reacted to the block, stating: “We seem to be the first country in the world to block the famous reading and writing platform Wattpad.”

The Disabled Web account on X announced that with the decision by Ankara’s 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace, access to Wattpad has been restricted.

Wattpad, with over 90 million monthly readers worldwide, also has millions of users in Türkiye.

Its popularity among youth has turned the ban into a trending topic on social media platform X.

While an official explanation for the ban has not yet been provided, some media outlets recently criticized content on the platform harshly.

Similar situations have occurred before, with the platform typically returning to normal within 1-2 hours.

Some users on social media suggested that the temporary closure might be because of maintenance.