ANKARA (Reuters) – A Turkish court docket on Monday ordered the arrest of a girl on prices of inciting hatred and insulting the president after she criticised a ban on social media platform Instagram, broadcaster Haberturk and different media mentioned.
Turkey blocked entry to Instagram on Aug 2 for failing to adjust to its “laws and rules” and public sensitivities. It eliminated the ban on Saturday, after it mentioned the Meta (NASDAQ:) Platforms-owned app agreed to cooperate with the authorities to deal with the federal government’s issues.
In an interview posted on YouTube channel final week, when the app was nonetheless blocked, the lady was certainly one of a number of passers-by who have been requested what they thought concerning the ban.
“This is wrong. The president cannot ban Instagram as he wishes,” the lady mentioned. She additionally criticised President Tayyip Erdogan and people who supported the ban.
Meta didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the arrest.
Monday’s arrest, ordered by a neighborhood court docket within the western metropolis of Izmir, got here after the pinnacle of Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog RTUK criticised avenue interviews aired on social media, saying they “manipulate public opinion”.
The Instagram entry ban got here after a prime Turkish official accused the social media platform of blocking posts expressing condolences over the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a frontrunner of Palestinian militant group Hamas.