Court orders blocking of bianet’s X account

A court has ordered the blocking of the X account of bianet amid ongoing internet censorship following the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

No official notification or explanation was provided to bianet regarding the restriction.

The Freedom Expression Association (İFÖD), a digital rights group, identified the censorship and reported that the decision was made under Article 8/A of Turkey’s Internet Law No. 5651. According to İFÖD, the court cited concerns related to “national security and public order” as grounds for the block.

bianet's account is still accessible from Turkey, but it can take a few hours with social media platforms to implement such orders.

The order concerns only the Turkish-language account of bianet, while its Engliah and Kurdish accounts are not affected.

X has complied with more than 700 requests from Turkish authorities to restrict accounts amid the protests since İmamoğlu’s arrest. The platform said it would legally chalenge the orders.

X restricts access to activist accounts in Turkey amid İmamoğlu protests

22 March 2025

(HA/VK)