Following the police blockade of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) office in İstanbul late yesterday, social media platforms across the country experienced bandwidth throttling, effectively rendering them inaccessible.
The measure involves deliberately reducing internet speed for specific applications. By midnight, users reported disruptions on X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
The government typically resorts to such restrictions during major incidents, ranging from natural disasters to bomb attacks and political unrest.
Most recently, bandwith throttling was implemented in March during countrywide protests following the detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the now-suspended mayor of İstanbul and the CHP's presidential candidate for the 2028 elections.
Under a 2020 social media law, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) can impose bandwidth restrictions for up to 24 hours. Any restriction exceeding 24 hours requires a court order. Courts have 48 hours to respond to requests for bandwith throttling.
The blockade on the CHP headquarters in İstanbul follows a court order to suspend the party's provincial leadership as part of a case concerning alleged irregularities in the party's 2023 congress, where the urrent leadership was elected. The case is part of a broader crackdown on the opposition party, whih could potentially lead to the removal of its leadership. (VK)
