Turkey: Instagram, WhatsApp Go Dark as Political Tensions Flare?

Internet monitor NetBlocks has reported widespread restrictions on social media platforms across Turkey, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and X. The blackout comes as the main opposition party called for large-scale rallies to protest a recent political ruling.

September 8, 2025: According to the worldwide internet monitor Netblocks, access to major social media sites like X (previously Twitter), YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram was limited on many networks in Turkey on Monday. The online problems happened when the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), called for protests in Istanbul against a police crackdown and barricades around its offices.

The Freedom of Expression Association in Turkey, which keeps an eye on internet censorship in the country, said that access problems started at 2045 GMT on Sunday. The impacted sites had their bandwidth limited. Netblocks, a group that keeps track of internet outages and censorship, confirmed that many networks were affected by the limitations.

Hundreds of CHP members have been targeted in a months-long legal crackdown. The most recent events started on Tuesday when a court ordered the party’s Istanbul provincial chairman to step down because of problems with a congress in 2023. In March, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested, which led to some of the biggest street protests in Turkey in ten years. Many people see Imamoglu as a major political opponent of President Tayyip Erdogan.

The CHP invited its members to gather in Istanbul in response to the police presence and legal actions, calling the police barricades a “siege.” Ozgur Ozel, the head of the CHP, told “all democrats and CHP members” to “protect the home of Ataturk in Istanbul,” which is where the party’s offices are. The party has always disputed all claims against it, saying that the legal measures are a politically motivated effort by the government to destroy the opposition and get rid of any risks to President Erdogan’s re-election.

The Access Providers Union of Turkey is in charge of carrying out decisions to ban websites, but they haven’t spoken anything about the limitations yet. Turkey has limited internet access during times of political turmoil or crisis before, and this has garnered criticism from international human rights groups and supporters of digital freedom.