Latest news with #TurkishInformationandCommunicationTechnologiesAuthority
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Istanbul mayor İmamoğlu's X account blocked in Turkey
The X account of the imprisoned and deposed Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been blocked in Turkey at the request of the Turkish government. The Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority submitted a request to the criminal court to temporarily block İmamoğlu's account, saying his posts to the public from pre-trial detention "harm public peace," according to a post by X's Global Government Affairs team on the platform on Thursday. The court then ordered the access block, stating that it was not possible to block individual posts. The block is set to remain in place until the end of İmamoğlu's pre-trial detention. İmamoğlu's profile, which is not currently run by the former mayor himself, is still accessible from other countries, with the last post shown from Wednesday. X has lodged an appeal against the decision. "While we have followed Türkiye's order regarding the account, we strongly disagree with the order and are challenging the order in court," the Global Government Affairs team wrote. The company noted that it could face "severe sanctions, including throttling of the entire platform in Türkiye" if it does not comply with the restrictions during its appeal. It added: "We believe keeping the platform accessible in Türkiye is vital to supporting freedom of expression and access to information, particularly following natural disasters and other emergencies." The Istanbul public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation against İmamoğlu based on a post on his X account from April, the communications agency said. The former mayor and rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is accused of publicly inciting a criminal offence. İmamoğlu's arrest and subsequent detention has plunged Turkey into its worst crisis in years. The former mayor was taken into custory on March 19 in connection with corruption and terrorism investigations and is being held in pre-trial detention on corruption charges. Critics accuse the government of using the judiciary to eliminate Erdoğan's main competition. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in regular mass protests since then. On Wednesday, large numbers of people demonstrated again in Istanbul, this time in front of the university that revoked İmamoğlu's decree shortly before his arrest.
Miami Herald
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Turkey blocks arrested opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu's X account
May 8 (UPI) -- Turkey Thursday ordered X to restrict access to the account of jailed political opposition leader and Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu. X's Global Government Affairs team said in a statement that it is complying with Turkey's order to block Imamoglu's account but will challenge it. "We strongly disagree with the order and are challenging the order in court. The order was received from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority. These orders require X to block content in Turkey that is available in the rest of the world," it said. A post on Imamoglu's X account Thursday said it was blocked by a legal demand. According to the BBC, a lawyer representing X has filed a court challenge to the block order. Imamoglu's Republican People's Party told the BBC that the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's is taking another step in a coup attempt. "Now they won't even allow him to speak to the public," said CHP Secretary General Selin Sayek Boke. "It clearly shows the fear of those in power that they will be losing power. It's a coup attempt against the next ballot box." Opinion polls show Imamoglu would win an election if allowed to run in 2028. X said defying the order to block Imamoglu's account could lead to Turkey banning X entirely from the country. "X complied with the court order while we challenge the order in court because we believe keeping the platform accessible in Turkey is vital to supporting freedom of expression and access to information, particularly following natural disasters and other emergencies," the statement said. When Imamoglu was taken into custody March 19, he said, "I'm sorry to say, a handful of minds trying to usurp the will of our nation have used my beloved police officers, the security forces of this country, as instruments of evil, and have gathered hundreds of police officers at the door of my home, the home of 16 million Istanbulites." Imamoglu was formally arrested on corruption charges and removed from office in March, sparking thousands of people who believe his arrest is politically motivated to protest. He denies committing crimes and had been urging his supporters to protest. For people using VPNs Imamoglu's X account in Turkey is still accessible. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Turkey blocks arrested opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu's X account
May 8 (UPI) -- Turkey Thursday ordered X to restrict access to the account of jailed political opposition leader and Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu. X's Global Government Affairs team said in a statement that it is complying with Turkey's order to block Imamoglu's account but will challenge it. "We strongly disagree with the order and are challenging the order in court. The order was received from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority. These orders require X to block content in Turkey that is available in the rest of the world," it said. A post on Imamoglu's X account Thursday said it was blocked by a legal demand. According to the BBC, a lawyer representing X has filed a court challenge to the block order. Imamoglu's Republican People's Party told the BBC that the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's is taking another step in a coup attempt. "Now they won't even allow him to speak to the public," said CHP Secretary General Selin Sayek Boke. "It clearly shows the fear of those in power that they will be losing power. It's a coup attempt against the next ballot box." Opinion polls show Imamoglu would win an election if allowed to run in 2028. X said defying the order to block Imamoglu's account could lead to Turkey banning X entirely from the country. "X complied with the court order while we challenge the order in court because we believe keeping the platform accessible in Turkey is vital to supporting freedom of expression and access to information, particularly following natural disasters and other emergencies," the statement said. When Imamoglu was taken into custody March 19, he said, "I'm sorry to say, a handful of minds trying to usurp the will of our nation have used my beloved police officers, the security forces of this country, as instruments of evil, and have gathered hundreds of police officers at the door of my home, the home of 16 million Istanbulites." Imamoglu was formally arrested on corruption charges and removed from office in March, sparking thousands of people who believe his arrest is politically motivated to protest. He denies committing crimes and had been urging his supporters to protest. For people using VPNs Imamoglu's X account in Turkey is still accessible.
Forbes
24-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What We Know About Reported X Bans In Turkey—As Musk's Company Says It Won't Comply With Government Requests
Social media platform X said the Turkish government has requested more than 700 accounts be blocked amid protests over the controversial arrest and jailing of Istanbul's mayor—but X said it wouldn't comply with the requests, even though some accounts say they've been censored. University students march across Galata bridge during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem ... More Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 24, 2025. Lights on top of the Yeni mosque reads in Turkish: "Don't forget your afterlife". In a statement posted to X, the company's global affairs team said it received multiple court orders from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority to block 'over 700 accounts of news organizations, journalists, political figures, students, and others within Türkiye.' The statement called the request 'unlawful' and said it would hinder 'millions of Turkish users from news and political discourse in their country,' adding, 'X will always defend freedom of speech everywhere we operate.' But, on Saturday, Politico Europe reported X had already suspended a number of accounts 'belonging to opposition figures,' including activist Ömer Faruk Aslan, who said in a post he made a new account after his former account 'was blocked by a court order because the tweets exceeded 6 million views,' and news outlet Bianet, which said its account is censored. Some of the accounts were reportedly only suspended in Turkey and remained viewable to people in other countries. Forbes has reached out to X for comment. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here. Last week, authorities arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and said he must face trial for corruption charges, according to multiple outlets. Istanbul's mayor is accused of leading a criminal organization, overseeing bribery, supporting terrorism, and more, according to The New York Times. Imamoglu, a member of the Republican People's Party, is largely seen as the main political rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his jailing has been viewed as a political move. Hours after he was jailed, his party elected him as its presidential candidate in the next election, which is scheduled for 2028. From March 19 to Sunday, there have been more than 1,100 people detained, Ali Yerlikata, Turkey's minister of the interior, said on X, and the Times reported the protests that have followed have been the country's largest in more than a decade. Yes. In 2023, when Erdogan was up for reelection, then-Twitter's global affairs team said in a post it had 'taken action to restrict access to some content in Turkey' in response to the legal process and 'to ensure Twitter remains available to the people of Turkey.' On his personal account, X owner Elon Musk responded to allegations of X not supporting free speech by saying, 'The choice is have Twitter throttled in its entirety or limit access to some tweets.' Exactly how many accounts are being censored in Turkey. In an X post, Yerlikata said authorities identified 326 accounts that were inciting crime, 72 of which were abroad. Yusuf Can, coordinator and analyst at the Wilson Center's Middle East Program, told Politico over the weekend most of the accounts were 'grassroots activists' and 'university-associated activist accounts, basically sharing protest information, locations for students to go.' 85.66%. That's how many removal requests X complied with from Turkey in the back half of 2024, according to its global transparency report. Musk's X suspends opposition accounts in Turkey amid civil unrest (Politico Europe) Turkey detains journalists as protests grow over the jailing of key Erdogan rival (Associated Press) Turkey to block over 700 X accounts—from news organizations, journalists, politicians and students. X calls the decision 'unlawful' and vows to 'always defend freedom of speech' (Fortune) Journalists among more than 1,100 arrested in Turkey crackdown (The Guardian)
