Türkiye, Instagram make progress in talks: Minister

ANKARA

Türkiye and Instagram have made significant progress in their recent discussions concerning the access restriction that has now persisted for five days, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Tuesday.

"Two meetings were held. We continue to convey our sensitivities. Consider that just as a company has its own rules, our country has laws. We are prioritizing our laws and will defend them to the fullest," Uraloğlu stated during an event in the capital Ankara.

"We have made significant strides. I believe they will soon take our sensitivities into account.”

His remarks came a day after ministry officials and Instagram representatives met for approximately six hours, but a consensus on reopening access to the Meta-owned social media platform was not reached.

Türkiye blocked Instagram on Aug. 2 because it did not comply with the country's "catalog of crimes,” according to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). These include offenses such as child sexual abuse, encouragement of suicide and insulting modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Daily Milliyet on Tuesday reported that one of the discussion topics was Türkiye’s request for the algorithmic suppression of posts perceived to support the PKK and FETÖ terrorist groups.

Turkish officials also presented a list of content they wished to be removed, but there was no agreement on the definition of terrorism during the meeting.

In his remarks on Tuesday, the Turkish minister emphasized that the country does not have a prohibitive stance but insists on respecting its sensitivities.

Uraoğlu also noted that Instagram had restricted posts offering condolences for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

"This platform claims Hamas is a terrorist organization, yet it does not recognize the YPG as one. If you are in our country, you must respect our country's sensitivities."

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, speaking earlier in the day, argued that removing posts about Haniyeh amounted to a violation of press freedom.

He also stated that the platform would be reopened once it aligned with Türkiye’s sensitivities.

In the meantime, tech giant Meta apologized on Tuesday for removing social media posts by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about the assassination of Haniyeh.

The apology came a day after Anwar's office summoned Meta representatives to seek an explanation on why the leader's Facebook and Instagram posts about Haniyeh's death had been removed.

"We apologize for an operational error where content from the Prime Minister's Facebook and Instagram pages were removed," Meta said in a statement emailed to AFP.

"The content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label."