site.btaBlocking of Instagram in Turkiye Sparks Fears of e-Commerce Losses

The blocking of access to the social network Instagram, imposed Friday by Turkiye's Information Technology and Communications Authority, has provoked strong reactions across the country.

There are around 57 million Turkish users of Instagram and Turkiye ranks fifth in the world in this regard.

Emre Ekmekci, an e-commerce expert, predicted that the sector would be the hardest hit by the blocking and would suffer significant losses.

"Ten percent of Turkey's total e-commerce is done through social media," said Ekmekci, in an interview with the Ihlas Haber Ajansi news agency

In his words, in terms of volume, this amounts to TRY 930 million per day. Together with the influencers who use the platforms, a turnover amounting to TRY 1.9 billion (over EUR 52 million) could suffer losses.

"Every channel is important to us. Instagram is one of the most important ones. There is a very serious economy revolving around this platform in Turkiye. There are business models and investments that are based on this platform and this decision does not create a positive environment," he stressed.

So far, Turkish authorities have not given a specific reason for blocking access to the social media platform, but on Wednesday, the Turkish Presidency's Head of Communications Fahrettin Altun harshly criticized the platform, saying it "does not allow people to post condolences" over the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, who was head of  the Hamas Political Bureau.