Turkish authorities blocked access to more than 311,000 websites in 2024, the highest figure recorded since monitoring began, according to a report released Monday by the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), a group that tracks online censorship.
The report, titled “Kafkaesque Censorship in a Digital Cage,” said the number represents a sharp rise compared with 240,857 websites blocked in 2023 and 137,717 in 2022. Since the adoption of Turkey’s Internet Law No. 5651 in 2007, authorities have blocked 1,264,506 websites and domain names through decisions issued by 852 institutions and courts.
Law No. 5651 regulates online content and gives multiple agencies the authority to order removals or blocking. Article 9 of the law, struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2023, allowed individuals to request the removal of news reports or other content that allegedly violated their “personal rights.” Critics said the provision was widely abused by officials and businesspeople to silence reporting on corruption, misuse of public funds and political scandals. Although the court annulled Article 9, the ruling took effect only in October 2024, and courts continued to apply it throughout the year.
Of the 311,091 bans last year, 82 percent were ordered by the president of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), while the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), which gained blocking powers in 2021 to prevent the illegal broadcasting of football matches, was responsible for more than 50,000. Courts issued only 938 blocking orders. Other authorities included the National Lottery Directorate (MPİ), the Capital Markets Board (SPK), the Ministry of Health and the Tobacco and Alcohol Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Censorship extended beyond websites. The association said 270,000 URLs, 17,000 X accounts, 25,500 YouTube videos, 16,700 Facebook posts and 16,000 Instagram posts were restricted under Law No. 5651 and other provisions.
News outlets were also targeted. The report found that 5,740 news reports were blocked in 2024. In total more than 49,000 articles have been censored since 2014 under Article 9.
The association said the practice showed “systematic disregard” for constitutional rulings and described 2024 as a turning point when censorship reached an “absurd and unpredictable” level. It cited a temporary nationwide block on Instagram in August and indefinite restrictions on platforms such as Wattpad, Roblox and Discord.
Turkey, which remains one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to press freedom organizations, dropped to 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in early May.
Over the past decade Turkey has enacted increasingly strict laws targeting digital platforms, particularly with the introduction of a 2022 “disinformation law,” which criminalizes the dissemination of “false or misleading information” and carries prison sentences of up to three years. Critics argue that these laws are used to suppress dissent and silence opposition voices.
The government has also significantly increased its monitoring of online activity, with thousands of social media users investigated annually for posts critical of authorities or state institutions.
“In a climate where reporting truth is treated as a crime, courts determine what the public is not allowed to know,” the report said.
