Turkey restricts social media following arrest of president’s main rival

Turkey has reportedly restricted access to several major social media platforms, including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, following the detention of the Turkish president’s main rival.

According to internet monitoring service NetBlocks, the disruptions began early Wednesday. Local media reported that many users across Turkey struggled to log in, refresh feeds or share content on social media.

Instagram users experienced difficulties loading profiles and stories, while X and YouTube suffered from slow loading times and connection failures. Some users were unable to access the platforms altogether.

The Turkish government has not issued an official statement regarding the restrictions.

The crackdown follows the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu — widely seen as President Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival — on charges of corruption and alleged links to a terrorist organization.

The main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), denounced the arrest as "a coup attempt against our next president.”

Following Imamoglu's arrest, protests erupted across Turkey, including on university campuses, despite a four-day ban on demonstrations imposed by the government.

As part of the investigation against İmamoğlu, police detained 100 people, including politicians, journalists and businessmen.

Turkey has previously imposed social media restrictions during periods of political turmoil. In October, the government blocked the messaging platform Discord, citing concerns over its refusal to cooperate with local authorities and allegations of misuse for criminal activities.

In August, Turkey banned access to the video game platform Roblox over content-related concerns, though the company later stated it was working with authorities to restore service.