Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday that it was pleased with Turkey's decision to restore access to its Instagram social media platform and that it is maintaining discussions with Turkish authorities regarding content and accounts that breach its policies.
"We are delighted to see that Instagram is operational again in Turkey... We are continuing our conversations with the authorities and will persist in taking action against any content and accounts that violate our policies," stated a Meta spokesperson in an official statement.
This includes the removal of content that contravenes our Dangerous Organisations & Individuals policy and the application of allowances for newsworthy content where applicable, according to the spokesperson.
Turkey reinstated access to Instagram on Saturday after a nine-day suspension, following Ankara's announcement that the US company had agreed to collaborate with authorities to address the government's concerns.
The platform was blocked on August 2 for non-compliance with the country's "laws and rules." This decision followed accusations from a senior Turkish official that the platform had blocked posts expressing sympathy for Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The block led to protests from users and small businesses, who rely on the platform to reach their customers. On Monday, a court in Izmir ordered the arrest of a woman charged with inciting hatred and insulting the president for criticizing the Instagram ban, according to broadcaster Haberturk and other media.
Meta clarified that the company has not altered its policies but has agreed to reassess the accuracy of actions taken regarding policy-violating content and accounts in Turkey in the days following Haniyeh's assassination. It stated that it has applied newsworthy allowances to content posted by Turkish politicians in line with its standard approach. Meta permits policy-violating content to be visible if it is deemed newsworthy or in the public interest.
Turkey ranks fifth globally in Instagram usage, with over 57 million users, following India, the United States, Brazil, and Indonesia, according to data from Statista.
