Social media platform X has suspended several accounts belonging to opposition figures in Turkey, news web site Politico reports.
The suspension comes amid continued protests over the arrest of mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, a member of the opposition CHP social democrat party, on charges of corruption.
Turkish law allows the government to request such suspensions.
“It’s not the first time that X has restricted access to content in the country,” Politico notes, adding that “X heeded about 86 percent of government requests to take down content in the second half of 2024 in Turkey, compared to 68 percent in the first half of the year, according to its transparency reports.” Politico further adds that “Turkish authorities file about six times more takedown requests per capita” than European Union countries.
X owner Elon Musk has defended the platform’s compliance by saying that it is better to restrict some accounts than having the platform suppressed altogether.