ANKARA, Aug 4, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Instagram users in Turkey woke up Sunday to find the social media network blocked for the third consecutive day, following censorship accusations against the US company from a high-ranking Turkish official.

The BTK communications authority announced on its website on Friday that the Meta-owned platform had been frozen, without giving any reason.
An official then referred to a regulation that allows "criminal content" to be blocked.

"Our country has values and sensitivities. Despite our warnings, they did not take care of criminal content," Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Friday.

"We blocked access. When they abide by our laws, we'll lift the ban."

The president's communications director, Fahrettin Altun, accused Instagram on Wednesday of "preventing people from publishing messages of condolence for the martyr (Hamas leader Ismail) Haniyeh".

"This is a very clear and obvious attempt at censure," Altun said on social media platform X.

The social-democrat and nationalist opposition parties and the Ankara legal profession petitioned the courts on Friday evening for the freeze to be lifted.

According to Turkish media, 50 million of the country's 85 million people have an Instagram account.