Turkey to restore access to Instagram, minister says

ISTANBUL (Reuters): Turkey will restore access to social media platform Instagram at 1830 GMT on Saturday after the company agreed to cooperate with authorities to address the government’s concerns, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.

“As a result of our negotiations with Instagram officials, we will lift the access block…after they promised to work together to meet our demands regarding catalog crimes and on censorship imposed on users,” Uraloglu said in a post on X.

On Friday last week, Turkey blocked access to the social media platform for failing to comply with the country’s “laws and rules” and public sensitivities.

The week-long ban triggered protests from users and small businesses who reach their customers through the platform.

Turkey and Instagram held talks after the ban, which followed a top Turkish official’s accusation that the social media site blocked condolence posts over the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Turkey has denounced Israel’s attacks on Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire and criticised what it calls unconditional support for Israel by the West.

“Our metrics don’t yet indicate a significant restoration of Instagram in Turkey. We’ll be monitoring closely,” Internet monitor NetBlocks said.

Turkey ranks fifth in the world in terms of Instagram usage, with more than 57 million users, following India, the United States, Brazil and Indonesia, according to data platform Statista.