Turkey Blocks Access To Instant Discord Message Platform Due To Court Decision

Discord makes it difficult for authorities to monitor and intervene when illegal or criminal content is shared. (photo: x @discord_support)

JAKARTA - The Turkish government has blocked access to Discord instant messaging platforms based on court decisions. This was done after the platform refused to provide information requested by Ankara, according to Turkish authorities on Wednesday, October 9.

Discord, a San Francisco-based company, stated in a status update that it was aware of reports of inaccessible Discord access in Russia and Turkey. "Our team is investigating this report," Discord said.

The Turkish Information and Communication Technology Authority issued a decision to ban this access on their website. The Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tunc, explained that a court in Ankara decided to block Discord access in Turkey due to strong suspicions that crimes such as "child sexual harassment and pornography" had been committed by some users of the platform.

The bloc comes after public outrage in Turkey over the murder of two women by a 19-year-old man in Istanbul this month. Content on social media shows Discord users praising the murder.

The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, said that the characteristics of the Discord platform made it difficult for authorities to monitor and intervene when illegal or criminal content was shared.

"Security personnel cannot directly check content. We can only intervene when users report the content shared there," he told reporters in parliament.

He also added that Discord refused to share their information, including IP addresses and content, with security units, so the government was forced to block access.

On Tuesday, October 8, Russian communications regulators also blocked Discord for violating Russian law after previously fined the company for failing to remove banned content, according to a TASS report.