It has been learned that the Turkish Telecoms Authority (BTK) imposed an access restriction to social media which is mainly used by earthquake victims to get help.
It has been reported that band throttling started for Twitter and TikTok in Turkiye.
After two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 in Kahramanmaraş, many citizens were using Twitter intensively to announce their search and rescue efforts.
However, it was stated that there was an access problem in the application.
Many users state that their Twitter page is not updated.
Some users also stated that they could only access Twitter with a VPN.
According to NetBlocks’ Twitter share, access to Twitter is restricted in Turkey.
⚠️ Update: Live metrics show that the Twitter restriction in #Turkey has been extended to more internet providers. The filtering measure is likely to impact community rescue efforts underway after the series of deadly earthquakes on Monday.
? Report: https://t.co/CEbfgeBpvz pic.twitter.com/51j66jAydA
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 8, 2023
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who is the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the leader of the main opposition in the country tweeted “I told my friends in the field to use VPN for cooperation coordination. This insane Palace government cut off social media communication. The result is less cries for help. We know everything you’re trying to hide. We await your explanation.”
Yardımlaşma koordinasyonu için sahada bulunan arkadaşlarıma VPN kullanmalarını söyledim. Bu aklını yitirmiş Saray iktidarı, sosyal medya iletişimini kesti. Bunun sonucu yardım çığlıklarının daha az duyulmasıdır. Gizlemeye çalıştığınız her şeyi biliyoruz. Açıklamanızı bekliyoruz.
— Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (@kilicdarogluk) February 8, 2023
UPDATE:
Twitter access restored
After some 9 hours later, BTK restored access to Twitter.
Turkey’s Deputy Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Omer Fatih Sayan said that in talks with Twitter management, he had reminded Twitter of its responsibilities and had conveyed expectations of cooperation in fighting disinformation as earthquake relief work continues.
“Twitter has been informed by the Turkish government that access will be re-enabled shortly,” Twitter Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a post on Twitter
