Key facts
- Journalist groups urged X to reject Turkish authorities' requests to block accounts without independent judicial review.
- The International Federation of Journalists, European Federation of Journalists, and Turkish Journalists' Union issued a joint statement.
- Requests from administrative authorities should not be sufficient grounds for blocking accounts without independent judicial review.
- In September, court decisions were identified for only 115 of 1,270 X accounts blocked in Turkey, according to IFOD.
- The blocked accounts had a combined following of over 35 million.
Journalism groups have urged social media platform X to reject requests from Turkish authorities to block accounts of journalists and media outlets, demanding that such actions be supported by clear and independently reviewable judicial decisions. The International Federation of Journalists, European Federation of Journalists, and the Turkish Journalists' Union issued a joint statement on Tuesday, citing a rise in access restrictions that they believe lack adequate judicial scrutiny.
These organizations emphasized that requests from administrative authorities, law enforcement, or other public bodies should not be sufficient grounds to block access to journalists' or media organizations' accounts without independent judicial review. They also called for greater transparency from X regarding these restrictions.
According to the Freedom of Expression Association (IFOD), in September, court decisions could only be identified for 115 out of 1,270 X accounts that faced access restrictions in Turkey. The grounds for blocking the remaining 1,155 accounts were unknown. These accounts collectively had more than 35 million followers.
Separately, a journalist for British broadcaster Sky News, Alex Crawford, reported on Monday that her X account had been blocked in Turkey, citing a mid-September court decision related to "obscenity" in the name of protecting family values. IFOD noted that this was part of a broader crackdown impacting various groups, including LGBTQ activists, women's rights groups, lawyers, and financial experts. The association reported that at least 1,270 X accounts were blocked in September, a figure higher than the total for the previous year, with these accounts having over 35 million followers combined.