Türkiye lifts ban on Instagram following extensive negotiations

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Instagram will soon be accessible again in Türkiye.

Uraloglu announced that Meta has agreed to Türkiye’s conditions, and Instagram will be reopened at 9:30 PM local time.

Instagram, which has 58 million users in Türkiye, was blocked by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) due to “non-compliance with catalog crimes.” The timing of the lifting of the ban had been a matter of concern.

Respect to laws of Türkiye

Minister Uraloglu confirmed that negotiations with Instagram officials have been concluded, adding the following:

“As the Government of the Republic of Türkiye, we blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on August 2 for not responding to our requests due to its policies on catalog crimes.

From the beginning, we have asked social media platforms to respect the laws of the Republic of Türkiye.

As a result of our negotiations with Instagram officials, we will lift the access block as of 09.30 PM upon their promise to meet our demands, especially within the framework of catalog crimes, and to work jointly on the censorship of users.”