On Saturday, Turkey announced that it had reinstated access to the social media platform Instagram following the company's agreement to collaborate with authorities to address the government's concerns.

Access to Instagram had been blocked on August 2 due to the platform's failure to adhere to the nation's "laws and rules" as well as public sensitivities.

A senior Turkish official accused Instagram of censoring condolence messages related to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas. Turkey has condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire, and criticized what it perceives as unconditional Western support for Israel.

The nine-day suspension led to protests from users and small businesses that rely on the platform to connect with their customers.

According to Statista, Turkey ranks fifth globally in Instagram usage, with over 57 million users, following India, the United States, Brazil, and Indonesia.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu stated in a post on X that, "As a result of our negotiations with Instagram officials, we will lift the access block...after they promised to work together to meet our demands regarding catalog crimes and on censorship imposed on users."

In Turkish law, catalog crimes encompass offenses such as murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking, abuse, and torture.

Uraloglu further noted that "significant gains have been achieved in increasing security in the digital environment in Turkey, legal compliance, protection of user rights, and the development of a fair inspection mechanism."

He added that Instagram's parent company, Meta, had agreed to comply with Turkish law and ensure the prompt removal of posts and content that contain elements of specific crimes or "terrorism propaganda."

Instagram did not provide an immediate response when Reuters reached out for comment.

“Live metrics indicate that Instagram is being restored across Turkey’s primary internet service providers following a nationwide restriction that lasted nine days. This represents the country’s most extended ban on a prominent social media platform in recent years,” stated NetBlocks, an internet monitoring organization.