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On the night of 23 March 2025, Turkey faced another wave of tension: Interior Minister Ali Erlikaya said that the Turkish authorities had identified 326 social media accounts that they believe incite hatred and incite crime. Of these, 72 accounts, as the minister specified, are administered from abroad. Yerlikaya announced this via the X platform, stressing that law enforcement officers have already detained 54 suspects associated with these accounts, and the search for others is ongoing.
Meanwhile, the social network X, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, has suspended several accounts of Turkish opposition figures. Politico reports that the blocking took place against the backdrop of massive civil unrest in the country caused by the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to media reports, most of the blocked accounts belonged to activists who disseminated information about the protests and their locations.
The context of the events
The arrest of Imamoglu, who is the mayor of Istanbul and a key figure in the opposition Peoples’ Republican Party, was the catalyst for protests that spread to several major cities in Turkey, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The demonstrations began after the politician was detained on charges of corruption and aiding terrorist groups, which the opposition calls trumped-up. According to Erlikaya, 343 people were arrested during the third night of protests.
The blocking of accounts on the social network X has provoked a mixed reaction. On the one hand, Turkish law, in particular the 2022 Social Media Law, allows the government to demand the removal of content or restrict access to certain profiles. On the other hand, this decision contradicts Elon Musk’s stated position on the protection of freedom of speech. Politico notes that in the second half of 2024, X fulfilled about 86% of the Turkish government’s requests to remove content, which may indicate that the platform is cooperating with the authorities.
Reaction and consequences
Opposition figures and human rights activists criticised the actions of both the Turkish authorities and the X administration. “This is another step towards the suppression of dissent,” said one of the representatives of the protest movement, whose account was also blocked. At the same time, Erlikaya stressed that the government would not tolerate attempts to “disrupt public order and security”.
Against the backdrop of the protests in Turkey, access to other social media, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, was also restricted, which only increased public outrage. The situation remains tense, and further developments will depend on the reaction of both domestic and international forces.
Information is still coming in, so the details are still subject to change.
