ANKARA (Sputnik) – Turkiye may block access to Telegram Messenger after detection of channels facilitating drug sales, prostitution and gambling propaganda, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported on Sunday, citing government sources familiar with the matter.
The Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) has sent more than 1,000 notifications to the Telegram headquarters in the United Kingdom requesting to block these messaging channels, but received no response, the newspaper reported.
Access to Telegram may be blocked if the messaging platform does not take appropriate measures rapidly, the report said.
Turkiye comes 10th among the countries most frequently using Telegram, with about 8 million active users, the report added.
Turkiye blocked access to US photo-sharing app Instagram* on August 2 for actively preventing users from posting condolences over the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Instagram access was restored in the country on August 10, Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said, adding that the media company’s representatives vowed to fulfill Ankara’s demands.
*Owned by Meta, banned in Russia for extremism
