Instagram is now accessible! The terms accepted by META have been determined.

The Information Technologies and Communication Authority had imposed an access ban on Instagram on August 2nd, stating that it did not comply with "catalog crimes". Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced the agreement with Meta, stating that the company accepted Turkey's conditions. As a result, Instagram, which has millions of users, has been reopened.

"PROMISE OF A JOINT WORK"

Minister Uraloğlu, who announced the developments in the ongoing meetings with Instagram, announced on his social media account that the access ban on Instagram was lifted as of 21:30.

In his post, Uraloğlu used the following statements;

"As the Republic of Turkey, we had imposed an access ban on the social media platform Instagram on August 2nd because it did not respond to our demands regarding catalog crimes.

From the beginning, we wanted social media platforms to respect the laws of the Republic of Turkey.

As a result of our negotiations with Instagram officials, they promised to meet our demands, especially regarding catalog crimes, and to work together on the issue of censorship imposed on users. Therefore, we will lift the access ban as of 21:30."

The conditions accepted by Meta according to the demands from Turkey are as follows;

Contents and posts that fall under catalog crimes will be immediately removed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Turkey.

Compliance with the legal system of Turkey will be ensured, and quick and effective intervention will be made in case of law violations.

Accounts will not be closed without any warning.

The rights and accounts of Turkish users will be protected.

Accounts that have been closed without any warning will be reopened.

Propaganda of terrorist organizations such as PKK, PYD, and FETÖ will not be allowed on Instagram.

Posts that violate the laws of the Republic of Turkey will be removed from Instagram.

In case of any legal problems, Instagram will contact the authorities as quickly as possible.

ANNOUNCED UNDER 3 HEADINGS BY THE MINISTRY

In the statement made by the Ministry, the accepted and regulated issues were listed under headings such as legal compliance and content removal, user rights and account security, fight against terrorism and content control.

"As a result of the meetings held between our Ministry, the Presidency of Information Technologies and Communication Authority, and the representatives of Meta Platforms Company at the global level, the following statement has been made: In the meetings, the issues accepted by META Platforms officials and subject to regulation are as follows:

Legal Compliance and Content Removal: In accordance with the laws of the Republic of Turkey; after the necessary work is done to remove the contents and posts that fall under catalog crimes, they will be immediately removed. In this context, compliance with the legal system of Turkey will be ensured, and quick and effective intervention will be made in case of law violations.

User Rights and Account Security: Social media accounts belonging to citizens of the Republic of Turkey will be fully protected. Accounts will not be closed without any warning. In addition, accounts that have been closed or locked without any warning will be reopened. A fair application process will be carried out, taking into account the rights of account owners.

Fight Against Terrorism and Content Control: Accounts belonging to terrorist organizations such as PKK, PYD, FETÖ, and all content that contains propaganda for these organizations will be removed by META Platforms. In addition, an effective approach will be adopted in the fight against terrorist propaganda and illegal content to ensure the security and public order.

Within the framework of these regulations; significant gains have been achieved in increasing the security in the digital environment in Turkey, protecting user rights, and developing a fair control mechanism. The necessary procedures regarding the catalog crimes reported to Meta Platforms have been completed. It will continue to be carefully implemented in the future. In this context, we would like to thank the Meta Platforms officials and stakeholders who collaborated during the process and announce that Instagram will be reopened today at 21:30 (TS).

Presented to the public opinion."