Türkiye is increasingly throttling social media platforms and messaging apps to silence online communication at moments of profound political or social importance. The undersigned human rights and press freedom organisations condemn Türkiye’s actions, which isolate people from vital information, and stifle democratic participation. Türkiye must correct course and uphold its international human rights obligations.
On 7 September at 23:45, major social media platforms and messaging services X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal became inaccessible in Istanbul for approximately 21 hours.
The bandwidth throttling coincided with a police blockade of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul headquarters. The blockade triggered a call from CHP’s Istanbul Youth Branch to gather in front of the building at 23.00 on 7 September, in protest against a temporary injunction by an Istanbul court suspending the Party’s provincial leadership and replacing it with ‘trustees’, a decision some legal experts say was beyond the court’s jurisdiction. On 11 September, a court in Ankara rejected the case for the annulment of the Party’s İstanbul provincial congress on substantive grounds.
The throttling of platforms was accompanied by attacks on peaceful assembly and growing pressure on media reporting on the tense situation. On 8 September, the police forcibly entered the CHP headquarters together with the court-appointed trustee, deploying tear gas against demonstrators, journalists, party members and staff both outside and inside the building. At least 10 people were reportedly detained and handcuffed. The Istanbul Governor’s Office had already issued a ban on public gatherings in six districts starting at 20:00 on 7 September and lasting until 11 September. In addition, the president of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) warned on X that outlets ‘undermining social peace and public safety’ would face administrative fines, broadcasting suspensions and, ultimately, license revocations. This comes after major independent broadcasters TELE1, Halk TV, and SZC TV were hit with broadcast bans in recent months.
No official explanation has been provided for the throttling as of 11 September. Under Article 60/10 of the Electronic Communications Law (Law No. 5809), the Presidency may order the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) to restrict communications without a court order where there is peril in delay, citing national security, public order, or other grounds listed under Article 22 of the Constitution. These administrative restrictions are temporary and have to be brought to the judiciary within 24 hours. The competent court is required to render a decision within 48 hours thereafter. This means that communication can be cut for up to 72 hours without judicial approval. Article 60/10 was added to the Electronic Communications Law in August 2016 with a State of Emergency Decree, and codified into law in November of the same year.
Türkiye has a documented pattern of throttling social media platforms and messaging apps during critical events, including the February 2023 earthquakes when Twitter was throttled for about 12 hours despite urgent rescue efforts relying on it. Another example is the throttling of Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter after a bombing in November 2022.
The latest shutdown marks the second one in recent months. When CHP’s 2028 presidential candidate and then-Istanbul Mayor was detained in March 2025, X, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Telegram were throttled in Istanbul for 42 hours. This time around, the government escalated its repression by including Signal, and Whatsapp, the most widely used mobile application in the country. Accessing throttled platforms and messaging services through VPNs is not a reliable alternative in Türkiye, as most major providers have already been blocked for several years.
These restrictions are often imposed with little to no explanation. Platforms and messaging services are throttled and then quietly restored, leaving the public in a state of uncertainty. They limit the ability of journalists to report developing events of intense public interest, restrict access to vital information and stifle political dissent during moments when the public most needs open and free communication.
Türkiye’s actions are in clear violation of international human rights law. As emphasised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ‘given their indiscriminate and disproportionate impacts on human rights, States should refrain from the full range of internet shutdowns’. Any restriction on freedom of expression, including the blocking of certain platforms, must be based on a clear legal basis, necessary to achieve a legitimate aim, and proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued. According to the OHCHR, any internet shutdown, including targeted ones, must further be subject to prior authorisation by a court or other independent adjudicatory body and communicated in advance to the service providers with a clear legal explanation and details regarding scope and duration. In addition, governments must provide redress mechanisms, including through judicial proceedings, to those whose rights have been affected. Türkiye repeatedly violates these requirements. It instead uses throttling measures as convenient tools in its arsenal to block people’s access to information in politically sensitive times and to limit scrutiny of its actions.
The undersigned human rights and press freedom organisations urge Türkiye to refrain from throttling social media platforms and messaging services. Türkiye must stop its consistent crackdown on dissenting voices and the media, and uphold its international human rights obligations.
Signatories:
ARTICLE 19
ARTICOLO 21
Civic Space Studies Association (CSSA)
EuroMed Rights Network
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
International Press Institute (IPI)
Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA)
PEN Denmark
PEN International
P24 Platform for Independent Journalism
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders