Court bans X account of Turkey's oldest newspaper
An Elazığ court has ordered an access block on the X account of the daily Cumhuriyet, the Freedom of Expression Association announced today.
The Elazığ 2nd Penal Judgeship of Peace issued the ruling based on Article 8/A of the Internet Law. This article allows for content blocks on grounds of national security, public order, crime prevention, protection of public health, or protecting the right to life and property.
İFÖD did not provide details about the exact reason for the blocking order.
Following the ruling, Cumhuriyet changed its handle from @cumhuriyetgzt to @cumhuriyetgzt1, presumably to circumvent the ban. The account, which has more than 3.4 million followers, is still accessible from Turkey.
It's not clear whether this accessibility is due to the handle change or because X has not yet implemented the ruling. While the platform generally complies with such orders, it occasionally refrains from doing so.
Founded in 1924, Cumhuriyet is the longest-running newspaper in Turkey. The secularist-nationalist paper, whose name literally means "republic," was established with the involvement of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the republic.
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