Numerous social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube were suspended after the Turkish government restricted its citizens from complying with the nationwide broadcast ban.
The suspension was executed after reports of a bomb blast within one of Istanbul’s busy streets began circulating on the internet last week.
The Turkish explosion is now classified as a terrorist attack that happened 20 minutes past four pm near Taksim Square. The blast resulted in the injury of 81 individuals and eight casualties.
Turkish residents were discouraged by its government from using social media platforms to spread information regarding the attack.
A broadcast ban from RTUK (Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council) explained that its citizens should avoid disseminating information regarding the attack on any social media platform.
Moreover, the Turkish ISPs began suspending numerous social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.
However, some reports revealed that WhatsApp users were unaffected by the suspension. Unfortunately, due to the disruption, the flow of updates and additional information regarding the attack was lessened by authorities.
A separate researcher confirmed the widespread social media blackout after analysing the network traffic across the affected platforms within Turkey. The temporary shutdown of numerous servers occurred last Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, a restoration process was initiated by the government on the morning of the next day of suspension.
The government-mandated suspension was initially implemented on a Turkish network operator called Turk Telekom. Subsequently, the server blockage was extended to cover the majority of internet providers within Turkey.
This incident has also caught the attention of social media users as they are aware of a proposed law for internet censorship. A recent report revealed that a Turkish disinformation law is underway to become Turkey’s official law.
Many people criticised the proposed law as it penalises journalists and social media users for allegedly spreading false news.
These journalists and social media users believe that the government is attempting to control information dissemination within social media platforms. Many also believe that the law will try to have more censorship within the country and will let the government release the news that will favour their interests.
