Small businesses already feeling the pain after Instagram block in Turkey 

Since Instagram launched in 2010, the platform has been wildly popular in Turkey. 

By some counts, more than half of Turkey’s population uses Instagram. 

Users like Mutlu Karaduman, who makes runway fashion pieces out of scraps from a village in central Anatolia — and Burak Ozdemir, a chef who prepares giant portions of food while smiling straight at the camera — have found devoted followings on Instagram. 

But now, Instagram has gone dark in Turkey — after the Turkish government unexpectedly blocked the app late last week. 

Turkish officials accused Instagram of taking down some posts expressing condolences for the death of Hamas’ top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an airstrike in Iran on July 31. Early in the morning on Aug. 2, Turkey’s information technology regulator blocked access to Instagram across the country.

The Turkish government’s move does not bode well for a community of small, online business owners in the country who rely on the app for advertising and direct sales. In fact, some of them say they are already feeling the pain.  

“It’s the only platform that I have. I don’t have a physical store, so it’s the only store that people can reach,” said Idil Kafali — who sells her own clothing designs on an Instagram account called House of IKA.

There are ways around a digital block — by installing a VPN, or virtual private network. The Turkish government has banned several VPN services, and others require paid subscriptions. 

Although Kafali uses a VPN to access her account, not everyone has access to one. She said her sales have already slowed down. 

“On my own account, I’m glad I’m not using it that often. I don’t like to be on Instagram the whole day,” he said. “But for my business, it’s the opposite.”

Turkey’s Association of E-Commerce Operators estimates that the Instagram block could affect about $57 million in online sales every day for small businesses.

Meriç Korkmaz, who created a side business selling homemade candles on her Instagram account, @candlesofmiracle, said the shutdown has made it harder to reach her customers. 

“It has reduced my sales, and the uncertainty about whether it will open has negatively affected my motivation to keep this business going,” Korkmaz said. 

After a major outcry, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dug in — saying the ban was a response to what he called the “digital fascism” of social media companies. 

Meta, Instagram’s parent company, has been in talks with the Turkish government to overturn the block. It did not return a request for comment.

“You cannot find any legal explanation for blocking access to such a popular platform in Turkey,” said Yaman Akdeniz, a law professor and activist for digital freedom.

He said that the move is fairly typical for the Turkish government. It banned YouTube for two years, and Wikipedia for almost three.

These decisions can be made quickly and unilaterally by the communications regulator, often based on a complaint from a ministry. Recently, both Wattpad and Roblox were blocked over concerns for inappropriate content and its impact on children. 

“Within four hours, all internet service providers comply with that decision,” Akdeniz said. “Everything happens in the background automatically, like a virus update.”

Akdeniz has filed a legal challenge against the Instagram block, but he said that he expects that Turkish users are in for a long wait.

After a weekend of uncertainty, many Turkish Instagrammers began to post again, including Turkey’s state-affiliated news agency, Anadolu Ajansi.

Others came back with jokes about their new VPNs, which hide the country where a user is based by routing it through a different internet service provider.

“Instagram’s closed, so we’re traveling,” posted Buket Yildirim Sonmez, who posts satirical videos about life as a housewife on her account, @buketyildirims. “Which country are you in, my dears?”