Update: Since publishing this article on October 24, 2024, social media access has been restored in Turkey. This article has therefore been amended to reflect this.
Whether you're living in or visiting Turkey soon, you'll be happy to know that authorities restored social media access as of October 24, 2024, according to NetBlocks. Nonetheless, "The measure shows that Turkey's policy of blanket censorship at times of crisis remains in place, which results in public confusion and the spread of misinformation around current events," Isik Mater, Director of Research at NetBlocks, told me.
All the major social media platforms, including X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, and TikTok, were restricted the day before following a deadly attack on the headquarters of Turkey’s aerospace and defense company near the capital Ankara.
While you can generally bypass this type of restrictions fairly easily by using one of the best VPN apps, it may have been more challenging this time as the government has previously blocked access to some of the most popular services.
Internet watchdog NetBlocks first reported the block (see tweet below) shortly after the attack occurred. Another local source confirmed to TechRadar restrictions were enforced at 5 pm local time, alongside the throttling of internet speed connections.
⚠️ Confirmed: Live metrics show social media platforms including X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok have been restricted in #Turkey; the incident comes as authorities impose a broadcast ban over today's deadly attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries' headquarters in Ankara pic.twitter.com/6ChqiZxpRuOctober 23, 2024
"About two hours after the attack, the Turkish government once again did something that we, internet users, find hard to comprehend: it restricted access to social media platforms," Ali Safa Korkut, a Turkish journalist and Project Coordinator at Free Web Turkey, told me.
It isn't the first time that Turkey has pulled the plug on online resources during a time of crisis. In February last year, authorities blocked Twitter in the devastating aftermath of the earthquake that shook both Turkey and Syria. All major social media platforms were also restricted following the Istanbul blast in November 2022.
According to Korkut, such government censorship during natural disasters and alleged terrorist attacks is unacceptable.
"The throttling of all social media platforms and the government’s directive to mobile operators to slow down the internet is a serious violation of rights," he told me, adding that tests carried out with the Speedtest website show that internet connection speeds have also been limited.
Can a VPN help?
A VPN, short for virtual private network, is a security software that both encrypts your internet connections and spoofs your real IP address location. The latter skill is exactly why people generally turn to these services to bypass social media blocks like the one currently enforced in Turkey.
However, authorities have reportedly also been busy disrupting access to VPNs in Turkey. As of December 2023, Korkut explained, the Turkish government has blocked access to approximately 30 VPN services. Among these are some of TechRadar's top-rated apps, including NordVPN, Surfshark, and ProtonVPN.
"Therefore, as users living in Turkey, we are struggling more than ever to access the internet during restriction periods since December 2023. We have seen this happening again since yesterday," Korkut told me, adding that social media users dropped by 75% so far.
"Since very few people in Turkey know how to change DNS settings or use the Tor Browser, the internet in Turkey is currently at one of its lowest activity levels," he added.
Türkiye'den erişime engelli VPN servislerinin listesi: https://t.co/ttaery0W4m pic.twitter.com/OQHpGoHa5tAugust 4, 2024
Having said that, despite the alleged Turkey VPN ban, some providers confirmed a spike in sign-ups from the country back in August when authorities temporarily blocked Instagram, giving hope you may still be able to access some services using a VPN.
The team at NordVPN confirmed a spike in usage on October 23, recording a 60% daily increase compared to the day before. "Nevertheless, until noon today, demand normalized and currently remains at the usual level," a company's spokesperson told me. Proton VPN and ExpressVPN recorded a 1400% and 336% increase in traffic from Turkey respectively. Other data reports a 100% increase in VPN demand during the day.
Whenever possible, I suggest signing up and downloading a reliable VPN service before entering the country to limit issues as much as possible. I also recommend downloading as many VPN apps as possible. This enables you to hop from one service to another in case of blocks. I recommend looking at our dedicated guide on the best free VPN services on the market to give yourself the most VPN options without paying for them all.
VPNs aren't the only solution, either, so also try out some alternatives. As Korkut suggests, the Tor Browser is another good option (and very easy to use) as it reroutes your internet traffic through at least three encryption layers while spoofing your IP location. Likewise, FreeBrowser is a similar tool you can use on Android devices to grant access to geo-restricted content.
