MEDIA MONITORING DATABASE
Broadcast ban and bandwidth throttling following the İstanbul explosion
RELATED PERSON OR INSTITUTION
General
CITY
İstanbul
YEAR OF INTERFERENCE
2022
LAST UPDATED
13/11/2022
TYPE OF STATEMENT
Political
THE TITLE OF WHOSE RIGHT IS INTERFERED
Media Outlet
RIGHTS GUARANTEED UNDER THE RIGHT OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Right to Impart Information and Ideas
TYPE OF INTERFERENCE
Interferences by the Executive Power
The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK)
Temporary suspension of broadcasting

Following the explosion that occurred in İstanbul’s İstiklal Avenue in Taksim/ Beyoğlu on November 13, 2022 and claimed the lives of six people and wounded 81 others as of November 14, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed a broadcast ban upon the application of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. RTÜK head Ebubekir Şahin announced the ban on his social media account around half an hour after the blast. In the statement titled “Temporary broadcast ban”, it was said, “A temporary broadcast ban has been imposed as per the written correspondence of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism dated November 13, 2022 and numbered 04181 regarding the blast.”

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) reportedly gave an instruction of bandwidth throttling to social media and instant messaging platforms (November 13).