International and Turkish journalism organizations on Tuesday urged X to reject vague or disproportionate blocking requests from Turkey, warning that restrictions on entire accounts are cutting journalists off from their audiences and denying the public access to news.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) issued the joint appeal following a surge in restrictions targeting journalists, independent news outlets and rights organizations.
The groups said blocking a journalist’s entire account affects more than individual posts: It restricts readers’ access to reporting and undermines their ability to follow developments and compare information.
The appeal comes after the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) documented blocking orders against at least 1,270 X accounts in September under Turkey’s internet law. X made approximately 90 percent of those accounts unavailable to users in Turkey, the association said.
The 1,227 accounts for which follower data was available had a combined following exceeding 35 million. Those targeted included journalists, news organizations, LGBTQ rights groups, women’s organizations, academics and economists.
The organizations called on X to verify that requests are backed by explicit, independently reviewable judicial decisions, assess their legal grounds and reject sweeping demands. Where restrictions are legally required, they said, X should target specific content rather than entire accounts, notify affected users and publish detailed information about Turkish requests and its responses.
İFÖD said it could identify the underlying decisions for only 115 accounts from the documents it obtained. The legal basis for the remaining 1,155 was unknown to the association.
Among the most significant recent measures was an İstanbul court’s September 29 decision to block independent news outlet T24’s website and social media accounts. Prosecutors cited 118 items they described as “LGBT propaganda.” T24’s X account had approximately 1.9 million followers.
The restrictions have also reached foreign journalists. Sky News correspondent Alex Crawford said Monday that her X account had been blocked in Turkey. She said she had asked the Turkish presidency for an explanation but received no answer.
Even the account used to document internet censorship has been affected. İFÖD said X restricted its EngelliWeb monitoring account in Turkey on October 1, following a decision transmitted by the Cyber Security Presidency. The association said the decision itself had not been shared with it.
X’s published policy says it may restrict posts or accounts within a particular country in response to valid, properly scoped legal requests or local law violations. It also says affected users should be notified unless disclosure is legally prohibited. Such restrictions prevent access within the country concerned rather than necessarily removing the account worldwide.
This article is republished from Turkish Minute.
