After X, Bluesky also faces censorship! Access ban requested for 59 accounts

Prof. Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, one of the founders of the Freedom of Expression Association, made striking statements regarding access ban decisions targeting the social media network Bluesky. Akdeniz announced that "access ban requests for 59 accounts" have been sent from Turkey to Bluesky so far, and that "13 accounts and 1 post have been made invisible from Turkey" as a result.

2. The requests sent to Bluesky are based on decisions by criminal judgeships of peace under Article 8/A. Bluesky has not complied with all of these requests. For now, we have determined that 13 accounts and one post have been blocked and made invisible from Turkey.

— Yaman Akdeniz (@cyberrights) April 17, 2025

According to the information shared by Akdeniz, Article 8/A of Law No. 5651 was cited as the basis for these access requests, and the decisions were made by criminal judgeships of peace. Bluesky, however, only complied with a portion of the requests received. It was emphasized that while the platform sent notifications to its users, it did not provide an explanation regarding which content led to the accounts being blocked.

Pointing out that Bluesky has not yet opened an official representative office in Turkey, Akdeniz noted that the platform published transparency reports in 2023 and 2024, but that the 2024 report did not contain any information regarding Turkey. Nevertheless, the findings regarding access bans pertain to the year 2025.

Akdeniz stated, “Bluesky is now also facing censorship. The government's insistence on interfering with freedom of expression continues at full speed, just in a different form.” Meanwhile, according to EngelliWeb data, "the protection of national security and public order" was cited as the justification for the access ban decisions.

News Source: 12punto