Turkish authorities have blocked the social media accounts of two pro-Kurdish news agencies, prompting a parliamentary inquiry from an opposition lawmaker over the government’s expanding social media restrictions.
According to the Etkin News Agency (ETHA) the authorities blocked the X account of the Jin News Agency and the TikTok account of the Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) in Turkey. No official statement has been issued explaining the grounds for the blocking decisions.
Both outlets quickly moved to re-establish their presence online. MA said it would continue broadcasting on Tik Tok through a new account, while Jin News shared its updated X account with its followers.
The latest measures follow a series of previous restrictions targeting the same outlets. Their X accounts were blocked in January on the grounds of “national security” and “public order.” MA’s website and X account have repeatedly faced access bans in Turkey, while Jin News’ X, Instagram and YouTube accounts were also blocked in 2025.
Sevilay Çelenk, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), submitted a parliamentary inquiry to the ministries of interior, justice and transport and infrastructure, seeking clarification about the growing number of social media bans targeting journalists, news agencies and elected officials.
In her inquiry Çelenk asked how many social media accounts and news reports had been subjected to access bans over the past year, how many appeals were filed against such decisions and what their outcomes were. She also questioned the legal basis for blocking lawmakers’ accounts, arguing that the lack of transparent criteria undermines legal certainty and democratic accountability.
Çelenk said the accounts of Keskin Bayındır, co-chair of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), as well as DEM Party lawmaker Kamuran Tanhan had also been blocked, describing restrictions as arbitrary.
Turkey’s increasing use of digital censorship has been cited by press freedom monitors as a key factor in the country’s low ranking in global media freedom indices.
The US-based democracy watchdog Freedom House’s “2025 Freedom on the Net” report placed Turkey among the five countries with the steepest long-term declines in internet freedom. The organization cited broad censorship practices and intensified digital controls over the past 15 years, giving Turkey a score of 31 out of 100, putting it in the bottom tier of the 72 countries assessed.
The country was ranked 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
