Instagram is blocked in Turkey due to allegations of censorship of Hamas content.

• The Turkish government did not reveal the reason for the ban or its duration.
• According to reports, the ban was a reaction to Meta removing posts about the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its platform.

The Turkish government has restricted access to Instagram for its 85 million users, as announced by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority on Friday.

According to Turkish media, there are more than 50 million users of Instagram in the country. The app has been blocked by a decision made on 02/08/2024, as cited on the authority's website.

The Turkish government did not reveal the reason for the ban or its duration. However, reports suggest that the ban was a response to the removal of posts related to the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on a platform owned by the government.

The Daily Sabah newspaper, which usually supports the government, published a headline stating that the ban was due to the removal of posts about the Hamas leader's death, which were shared by users in Turkey on Wednesday.

In Tehran, Haniyeh, the head of the Palestinian militant organization's political wing, was killed in a blast during a visit for the inauguration of Iran's new president. Iranian officials and Hamas accuse Israel of the assassination, while Israel remains silent.

On Wednesday, Fahrettin Altun, the head of Turkey's presidential communications and an aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Instagram of censorship.

Altun strongly condemns Instagram for preventing people from posting messages of condolences for Hamas leader Haniyeh without citing any policy violations.

"He stated that this is censorship in its purest form and that they will defend freedom of speech against these platforms that have repeatedly demonstrated their primary allegiance to a global exploitative system of injustice."

CNBC has contacted Meta for comment.

Unlike many Western countries, including the U.S., Turkey does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Turkish government has been critical of Israel's military actions in Gaza and its control of the Palestinian territories, although it maintains diplomatic and economic ties with the Jewish state. Turkish President Erdogan has characterized Hamas as "freedom fighters."