Human rights groups urge social media to defy Turkish court orders

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – More than a dozen human rights groups pressed social media platforms, including X, on Monday to resist Turkish court orders blocking hundreds of accounts belonging to journalists and activists.

Key points

• The 21 organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Article 19, additionally called on the Turkish administration to stop issuing the blocking orders.
• "The Turkish authorities should stop issuing blocking orders to restrict content and accounts on social media and websites in violation of the right to freedom of expression."
• The administration has cited public safety worries to justify the restrictions.

What happened

Notably, the 21 organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Article 19, additionally called on the Turkish administration to stop issuing the blocking orders. It they say violate freedom of expression.

Over the past weeks, Turkish authorities have ordered social media platforms to withhold accounts belonging to independent media outlets, journalists and academics as well as LGBTQ groups and other nongovernmental organizations. The administration has cited public safety worries to justify the restrictions.

"Social media platforms should take meaningful steps immediately to uphold their human rights responsibilities and avoid contributing to suppressing independent media and violating the right to freedom of expression, " the groups remarked in a joint statement. "The Turkish authorities should stop issuing blocking orders to restrict content and accounts on social media and websites in violation of the right to freedom of expression."

The bottom line

For now, human rights groups urge social media to defy Turkish court orders remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.