“This is wrong. The president can't ban Instagram the way he wants,” the woman had said. (File)
Ankara, Turkey:
A Turkish court on Monday ordered the arrest of a woman accused of inciting hatred and insulting the president after she criticized a ban on social media platform Instagram, Habertürk broadcaster and other media reported.
Turkey blocked access to Instagram on August 2, citing failure to comply with “laws and regulations” and public sensitivities. The ban was lifted on Saturday after it said the Meta Platforms app had agreed to cooperate with authorities to address government concerns.
In an interview posted on a YouTube channel last week, when the app was still blocked, the woman was one of many passers-by who was asked what they thought of the ban.
“This is wrong. The president cannot ban Instagram as he pleases,” the woman said. She also criticized President Tayyip Erdogan and those who supported the ban.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.
Monday's arrest, ordered by a local court in the western city of Izmir, came after the head of Turkey's broadcasting regulator RTUK criticized street interviews broadcast on social media, saying they manipulate public opinion.
The ban on Instagram came after a senior Turkish official accused the social media platform of blocking posts expressing condolences over the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published via a syndicated feed.)
