ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch and the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) have written to major Big Tech companies regarding a sweeping new wave of internet censorship in Türkiye. This crackdown follows mass protests sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and other municipal officials and politicians on 19 March.
In the immediate aftermath of the arrests, social media platforms and messaging apps were throttled for 42 hours. Since then, Türkiye’s Information Technologies Authority (BTK) has issued orders for social media platforms to block access to hundreds of accounts, including those of student groups, journalists, civil society organisations, women’s rights groups and human rights defenders, in an attempt to suppress protest coordination and silence dissent.
Social media companies have reacted differently to the censorship orders they received. In April, Meta stated in a case study that they took no action on orders to block protest-related content. X issued a statement on 23 March about several orders they received from the Turkish government being unlawful – but nevertheless complied with over 471 account-blocking requests. On 8 May, access to detained mayor İmamoğlu’s Turkish-language X account, which has 9.7 million followers, was blocked in Türkiye. X stated later on the same day that they strongly disagree with the order and that they challenged it in court.
In a joint open letter to Meta, TikTok, YouTube and X, we urge the companies to uphold their users’ right to freedom of expression in Türkiye and resist state censorship that restricts protected expression under international human rights law.
The letter outlines the following key recommendations for social media companies:
- Assess blocking orders against international freedom of expression standards and resist complying with blocking orders that restrict access to protected expression.
- Be transparent about government requests for censorship.
- Engage with other companies to take a united stance against government pressure, and with Turkish civil society to better understand the implications of company policies and practices.