Twitter access restored in Turkey after talks

Access to Twitter in Turkey has been restored, the Netblocks internet observatory said on Thursday, following talks between the company and Turkish authorities about content posted after a major earthquake this week.

Access to Twitter was restricted on Wednesday, sparking protested by political opposition figures, academics and activists, two days after the quake hit the country and northern Syria, claiming thousands of lives.

“Metrics confirm access to Twitter is being restored in Turkey following hours of filtering,” NetBlocks said on its Twitter account.

Turkey’s Deputy Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Omer Fatih Sayan said that in talks with Twitter management, he had reminded Twitter of its responsibilities and had conveyed expectation of cooperation on fighting disinformation as earthquake relief work continues.

“Our demands are clear, strong cooperation on disinformation and false reports, swift action against fake accounts and … measures against content that could damage public order and security,” Sayan said on Twitter.

Earlier on Wednesday, Twitter Chief Executive Elon Musk said that the company had been informed by the government of Turkey that full access to the social media platform in the country will be re-enabled “shortly”.

“Twitter has been informed by the Turkish government that access will be re-enabled shortly,” Musk said in a post on Twitter, without providing further details on timing.

Turkish people have taken to Twitter since the earthquake to post information about loved ones they cannot reach, reports of collapsed buildings and coordination for aid.

The confirmed death toll in Turkey rose to 12,391 by Thursday morning, the Disaster Management Authority said.

In Syria, the toll of dead climbed to at least 2,950, according to the government and a rescue service operating in the rebel-held northwest.