An Istanbul court has ordered access blocked to at least 21 accounts on X, including those of a group representing relatives of jailed opposition figures and a left-wing news outlet, as Turkish authorities expand restrictions on social media accounts over alleged threats to national security, the Bianet news website reported Friday
The order was issued as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into accounts accused of “targeting national security” through their social media activity. The court imposed the restrictions under Article 8/A of Turkey’s Law No. 5651, which permits online content to be blocked on grounds including national security and public order.
Among the accounts targeted was Aile Dayanışma Ağı (Family Solidarity Network), which was established by relatives of politicians and municipal officials jailed in investigations targeting opposition-run municipalities. X has implemented the court order and withheld the group’s account from users in Turkey.
The group has held regular gatherings in support of jailed officials, including people detained in the sweeping investigations that followed the March 2025 arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the suspended mayor of Istanbul and one of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s most prominent political rivals.
The new X account of soL Haber, a left-wing news outlet, and the account of photographer and writer Fırat Erez were also covered by access-blocking orders and subsequently withheld by X in Turkey.
The restriction is the second targeting soL Haber in two months. Its main X account, which had about 924,000 followers, was blocked on July 3, prompting the outlet to establish the new account that has now also been targeted.
The court also ordered restrictions on İBB Tekzip, an account that publishes responses to allegations and news reports concerning the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and İstanbul Gönüllüleri, or Istanbul Volunteers, a civic group formed during the city’s 2019 local elections.
Unlike the Family Solidarity Network, soL Haber and Erez accounts, however, those two accounts had not yet been withheld by X in Turkey. A court order restricting an account does not automatically make it inaccessible on the platform until X implements the decision.
The restrictions extended beyond opposition-linked accounts.
Four accounts, including Erez’s, were targeted over allegations that they were spreading ‘Israeli propaganda’ or conducting ‘propaganda against Turkey.’ A separate group of nationalist and government-critical accounts was targeted over allegations that they were spreading disinformation that threatened national security.
Another group of 21 accounts included soL Haber, the Family Solidarity Network and accounts that had posted material supporting İmamoğlu or criticizing the government. X displayed notices on accounts where it had enforced the restrictions, saying they had been withheld in Turkey in response to a legal demand.
It was not immediately clear whether the different groups of accounts were all covered by the same court decision or by separate access-blocking orders issued the same day.
Turkey has increasingly used court orders and administrative measures to restrict social media accounts belonging to journalists, opposition politicians and civil society groups.
İmamoğlu’s main X account, which had about 9.7 million followers, was ordered blocked in April 2025 after his arrest and was subsequently withheld by X in Turkey. Authorities have since targeted several accounts used to distribute statements from İmamoğlu, including an account operated by his presidential campaign office.
X has challenged some Turkish access-blocking orders in court even while complying with them. The company said in August that it had implemented an order targeting one of İmamoğlu’s campaign accounts because it was legally required to do so but had appealed the decision.
