Media & Advertising

Turkey’s Instagram ban hits $57m-a-day ecommerce trade

August 6, 2024

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit out at social media platforms on Monday after his government blocked Instagram — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit out at social media platforms on Monday after his government blocked Instagram

Platform blocked on Friday
Officials in talks with Meta
50 million active users

For four days and counting, Instagram has been blocked in Turkey – not only putting a dent in the social lives of millions of users but also placing additional pressure on an economy under strain.

Turkish regulators gave no reason when they imposed a ban on the Meta-owned platform on August 2.

However, the shutdown coincided with Fahrettin Altun, communications director for the Turkish presidency, accusing Instagram of censorship. Altun posted on X (formerly Twitter) claiming it was blocking condolence posts for Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan echoed these criticisms on Monday, saying social media giants were seeking to “muzzle” people.

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The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (or BTK) later said the Instagram ban was related to “catalogue crimes” covering various offences. These include disrupting public order and incitement to criminal activity, but no specific post was identified as being in breach.

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters on Monday: “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.

“We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services.”

Many of Turkey’s 50 million active Instagram accounts are used for business purposes.

At least $57 million worth of ecommerce is conducted each day and a large percentage is carried out through social media, according to the trade ministry.

Dr Buğra Gökçe, head of the Istanbul Planning Agency, told AGBI that companies in the tourism and entertainment sectors, along with small and medium-sized businesses and freelance service providers, use Instagram to advertise their activities – but have been cut off.

“Those who go to these sites now cannot do so. Those who are influenced by the photos, videos or promotions on Instagram now have no chance to get to their websites to go shopping, as the link is cut,” he said.

Gökçe rejected government suggestions that the ban would not have any impact on Turkey’s economy.

“If it is not an element of trade, why do so many companies devote a sizeable part of their own budgets to promote their products on social media and especially on Instagram?” he said.

Talks between Turkish officials and Meta representatives on Monday failed to resolve the dispute. Further discussions are set for the following days.

It is not the first time Turkish regulators have shut down or restricted access to social media platforms. Last July the BTK banned the placement of advertising on X because the company had not met the legal requirement to open an office in Turkey.

Other platforms such as Meta’s Facebook have had their services suspended during security emergencies, such as a bombing in Istanbul in November 2022.

Wikipedia was blocked for nearly three years from 2017 after the online encyclopaedia refused to take down material deemed inaccurate and insulting to the Turkish nation.