Turkey Blocks Around 40 LGBT Accounts on X

Turkish authorities have blocked access to approximately 40 X accounts linked to LGBT organizations and feminist groups. The block was implemented by Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), citing “national security and public order” reasons. Human rights defenders have called the move a serious violation of freedom of expression.

Among the blocked accounts are profiles of prominent Turkish human rights organizations: Kaos GL, SPoD, Lambdaİstanbul, Pembe Hayat, and others. According to the monitoring platform Engelliweb, authorities demanded the social network’s management to restrict access to these pages for users within the country. Some accounts had already been inaccessible since June 2025.

A coalition of 22 human rights groups, including the Turkish branch of Amnesty International, released a joint statement condemning the authorities’ actions. “These access restrictions constitute an unacceptable practice that hinders the exercise of LGBT+ people’s rights at a time when information and calls to take part in Pride Month events and marches are intensifying,” the statement reads.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, but since 2015, authorities have systematically banned and suppressed annual Pride marches in the country’s major cities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regularly criticizes the LGBT community. On the day the accounts were blocked, he stated: “The institutions that bind society together and safeguard its future, particularly the family, are being targeted by certain quarters. These same groups are attempting to instill in young people deviant behaviors that run counter to human nature, such as those associated with LGBT people.” Erdoğan also blamed the community for the country’s declining birth rate.