Turkey Expands Social Media Surveillance

Turkish security forces significantly expanded their monitoring of social media last year. Police and the gendarmerie reviewed more than 600,000 accounts and identified over 210,000 users whose cases were referred to the relevant authorities for further action.

Compared with 2024, the number of accounts reviewed increased by approximately 60%, while the number of users identified rose by 72%. Police monitoring alone led to the detention of 8,471 people, of whom 496 were taken into custody and 1,360 released under judicial supervision.

Authorities monitored posts suspected of containing terrorist propaganda, promoting drug sales or inciting hatred. They also scrutinized content deemed insulting to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish nation, the republic or state institutions, as well as posts violating laws protecting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In Turkey, insulting the president is punishable by one to four years in prison.

In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that criminal proceedings under this provision were incompatible with freedom of expression and called on Turkey to amend the law. Ankara has not yet amended or repealed it.

Last year, Freedom House classified Turkey as “not free” in its assessment of internet freedom.

(stockholmcf, max)