A Turkish court has ordered a block on access to three widely followed news accounts on the social media platform X, marking the latest instance of online censorship in the country, Turkish Minute reported.
The accounts — BPT, Boşuna Tıklama and Zam Haber — are independent news outlets that have amassed large followings on the platform. BPT and Boşuna Tıklama have more than 1 million followers each, while Zam Haber has around 800,000.
The Ankara 11th Criminal Court of Peace issued the access ban on March 29 following a request from the presidency’s Directorate of Communications, İFÖD said. The court cited protection of public order and national security as reasons for the ban.
While the platforms affected have confirmed receiving notification of the ruling, the accounts remain accessible in Turkey as X has yet to enforce the ban.
In a statement on X on Monday, BPT criticized the decision, calling it arbitrary and lacking legal justification.
“We cannot accept that 10 years of work is being destroyed so easily and without reason,” the platform said. “We are a professional news outlet based in İstanbul with more than 10 employees. Our identity information is fully registered with state authorities, and we are prepared to testify if necessary. Yet we were not even informed which of our reports triggered this decision.”
The founders of BPT, now in their mid-20s, said, without revealing their names, that they launched the platform a decade ago as a dream project.
“It was not easy to build one of Turkey’s largest digital news accounts,” their statement said. “But now we see that all our efforts are being wiped out with the stroke of a pen. We will use every legal means available to challenge this unjust ruling. We call on everyone who supports independent journalism, freedom of information and justice to stand with us.”
Turkey has faced mounting criticism in recent years for its crackdown on press freedom and increased censorship of online platforms, especially those critical of the government.
The recent arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, seen as the strongest political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has intensified the online censorship in Turkey.
In the aftermath of the arrest, dozens of X accounts were blocked, including those belonging to people who participated in mass protests and media outlets that reported on the demonstrations.
Turkish authorities frequently cite national security concerns or laws against “terrorist propaganda” to justify digital censorship, particularly targeting opposition figures, activists and independent media.
The latest wave of account blocks follows a broader pattern of platform compliance with Ankara’s escalating crackdown on dissent.
In recent months X has complied with Turkish court orders to block access to hundreds of accounts, including those of journalists, activists and media organizations.
