A Turkish court has imposed a ban on the popular instant messaging app Discord in the wake of allegations that the platform has been used for child abuse, blackmail and online harassment, the country’s telecommunications authority announced.
Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) announced the ban on Discord ordered by an Ankara court on its website on Wednesday.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said on X that the ban on the platform was imposed by the Ankara court upon a request from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office due to the existence of sufficient suspicion that the crimes of “child sexual abuse and obscenity” have been committed on the platform.
“We are determined to protect our youth and children, the assurance of our future, from harmful publications that constitute a crime on social media and the internet. We will never allow attempts to shake the foundations of our social structure,” said the minister.
Ankara Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığının talebi üzerine Ankara 1. Sulh Ceza Hakimliği’nce Discord isimli sosyal medya platformuna 5651 Sayılı ‘İnternet Ortamında Yapılan Yayınların Düzenlenmesi ve Bu Yayınlar Yoluyla İşlenen Suçlarla Mücadele Edilmesi Hakkında Kanun’un 8/1 maddesinde…
— Yılmaz TUNÇ (@yilmaztunc) October 8, 2024
The access ban on Discord came shortly after Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu signaled earlier this week that the government was considering a ban of the platform due to allegations that the platform has been used for child abuse, blackmail and online harassment.
The announcement came amid heightened public concern following the brutal murder of two young women in İstanbul that were linked to discussions in online forums which praise violence against women and facilitate illegal activities.
The platform, primarily known for its widespread use among gaming communities, has come under scrutiny in recent days due to reports of its misuse by malicious actors.
Allegations have surfaced that certain groups within Discord are engaging in criminal activities, including targeting minors for blackmail and sharing harmful content.
These developments have intensified calls from some quarters for the app’s shutdown, though others argue that banning the platform outright may be an overreach.
Discord, initially launched in 2015 as a platform for gamers to communicate via text, voice and video, has evolved into a space where people gather around a variety of interests.
While the platform has hundreds of millions of users globally, its structure of private, user-controlled servers has raised concerns about the platform’s ability to monitor content effectively.
Reports have emerged suggesting that some groups on Discord are engaging in sextortion— a practice where individuals are blackmailed with sexual content, often through coercive threats.
In some instances, predators target minors by gaining their trust, coaxing them into sharing explicit images or videos and then using those materials to extort further interactions or money.
This phenomenon has been described as particularly concerning because of the psychological harm inflicted on victims, many of whom are teenagers or young adults.
In the recent controversy in Turkey, users on social media platforms such as X began drawing attention to Discord and Telegram groups, accusing them of being breeding grounds for criminal activities like child exploitation and online harassment.
Blocking access to websites and popular social media platforms is frequent in Turkey, where X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have suffered similar temporary bans in recent months and years. In August the gaming platform Roblox was also blocked due to child safety concerns.