Turkey cuts off access to social media after Ankara attack

Turkey has imposed a temporary ‘publication ban’ after the attacks in the capital Ankara. One of the consequences of this seems to be that access to various social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, is restricted.

Turkish officials have confirmed a publication ban is in place, though the exact implications are not made clear. Reports from users indicate that access to the Internet has been restricted, especially on social networking sites. Twitter, among others, is said to have been blocked in several places, such as reports the site itself. Several reports have also been received that Facebook would not be available to Turkish users.

Other users report that they can’t connect to the Internet at all, or have no access to email. There are also rumors that the Turkish government has lowered internet speeds to make internet browsing more difficult, but these have not been confirmed. Because there is no official list of blocked services, the extent of the blockage cannot yet be fully estimated.

Turkey was rocked on Saturday by an attack in the capital Ankara, while a protest was going on there. Two bombs were detonated, resulting in at least 95 deaths, according to the latest figures. Hundreds of people have also been injured. The Turkish government more often closes access to websites, especially social media, during periods of unrest, or when sites refuse to remove certain content.