Following yesterday's deadly blast on İstiklal Avenue in Istanbul, Turkish authorities began
restricting access to social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and
Telegram as a nationwide broadcast ban went into effect.Turkish ISPs throttle social media after blastReports of a bomb blast on Istanbul's busy İstiklal street began circulating on Sunday, November 13th on social media platforms.
The explosion, which has now been deemed a terrorist attack, purportedly occurred at around 4:20 PM local time near Taksim Square and left at least 8 dead and 81 injured.
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Following the tragic incident that sent chills down everyone's spines, Turkish residents were met with another unexpected happening—a broadcast ban from Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) that discouraged the dissemination of information related to the attack.
Turkish Internet Service Providers (ISPs) began throttling access to social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram:
Instagram was inaccessible in Turkey on Nov 13, 2022 (BleepingComputer)Sources based in Turkey shared with BleepingComputer that they could not access social media apps restricting flow of updates and information concerning the incident. No significant disruption was reported by WhatsApp users, however.
After analyzing network traffic, internet watchdog NetBlocks
confirmed that a widespread social media restriction was in effect across the nation, although
access is being restored as of this morning.
"Real-time NetBlocks metrics show that social media and communications platforms Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and some Telegram servers were restricted from Sunday afternoon," stated NetBlocks.
"The measure was initially implemented on leading network operator Turk Telekom, and subsequently extended to cover most major internet providers. Metrics are taken from an initial set of 50 vantage points across the country and corroborate user reports of service unavailability."
Social media law sparks fears of censorshipLast month, Turkey's "disinformation" law proposed by President Erdoğan's ruling AK Party went into effect.
The law, which has been sharply criticized, penalizes social media users and journalists for spreading "fake news." Anyone found guilty of spreading false information to "create fear and disturb public order" in Turkey faces up to three years in prison.
"With this new law...the goal is to control social media because conventional media is already under Erdogan's control," exiled Turkish journalist Sevgi Akarcesme
told CNBC in October.
Whereas, Ozgur Ogret, a Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) representative said the law impacts anybody with "the ability to speak, or read and write," and can lead to self-censorship.
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