Tech Desk 
Aug 11, 2024
Over a week after imposing a ban on it across the country, Turkey has restored Instagram in the country.
The reinstation came as an outcome of an accord signed by the Meta-owned social media platform. To address concerns the country had regarding the content policy, Instagram came to the negotiations table and agreed to extend its full cooperation.
Instagram was banned in Turkey on August 2, 2024, for its noncompliance with the country's "laws and rules" and public sensitivities.
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Among the factors at play behind the Instagram ban in Turkey, the most significant was of a political nature, as a top Turkish official accused Instagram of censoring posts shared to extend condolences to the slain leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, as reported by Reuters.
Shortly after coming into effect, the Instagram ban in Turkey led to country-wide demonstrations of public outrage, demanding the restoral of the popular social media app which is also used by a considerable segment of businesses to reach their potential customers.
With over 57 million users, Turkey ranks fifth on the list of countries with the most Instagram users, with India, the United States, Brazil and Indonesia securing fourth, third, second and first positions.
"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 catalogue crimes and censorship imposed on users," Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a post on X (formerly).
Murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking, abuse and torture are the top acts included in the Catalog of crimes in Turkish law.
"Significant gains have been achieved in increasing security in the digital environment in Turkey, legal compliance, protection of user rights and the development of a fair inspection mechanism," Uraloglu said.
"Live metrics show Instagram is being restored across Turkey's main internet providers after national restriction spanning nine days. This is the country's longest ban of a major social media platform in recent years," Internet monitor NetBlocks said.
