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** SPOTLIGHT
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Our call to Big Tech: Defend freedom of expression in Türkiye

Türkiye has a long history of internet censorship, especially when it comes to dissent. The recent crackdown on free speech online followed widespread protests across the country, sparked by the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu – later selected to be the 2028 presidential candidate for the main opposition party – and other municipal officials and politicians on 19 March. 

First authorities throttled social media platforms and messaging apps for 42 hours. Then Türkiye’s Information Technologies Authority (BTK) started issuing orders for social media platforms to block access to hundreds of accounts, including those of student and women’s rights groups, journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations.

On 8 May, İmamoğlu’s Turkish-language X account, which has 9.7 million followers, was blocked in Türkiye. 


Together with Human Rights Watch and the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), we wrote to Meta, TikTok, YouTube and X, urging them to uphold their users’ right to freedom of expression in Türkiye. We called on the companies to assess any blocking orders against international freedom of expression standards, and to resist complying with orders that restrict access to protected expression – remembering that political speech enjoys the highest level of protection. And we highlighted that companies must be transparent about the requests for censorship they receive, and about those with which they comply.

Read the letter ([link removed])

The people of Türkiye have the right to freedom of expression, to protest, to access information, and to engage in political life. We will continue to stand up for democracy in Türkiye, and urge others to join us.

Read more about our work on Türkiye ([link removed])

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