Turkish government blocks social media in wake of airport attack

Shortly after the deadly terror attack at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport that killed several dozen people and injured scores more, reports began circulating that the Turkish government had blocked social media in the country.

According to Vocativ, the office of the Turkish Prime Minister instituted the ban on any visuals of the explosion for national security reasons.


Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long opposed the use of social media and promised to "eradicate" it. If nothing else, outsiders are familiar with the case involving the man who shared a meme comparing Erdogan to Lord of the Rings character Gollum.  

But the issue has deeper, more disconcerting roots. In March 2015, Turkey's Constitutional Court passed a law that allowed the country's regulator "to ban content to secure the protection of life and private property, protection of national security and public order, prevention of crimes, and protection of public health without a prior court order''.