Social media platform X said Wednesday it had filed a legal challenge with Turkey’s Constitutional Court against a government order to block 126 user accounts, as mass protests continue across the country, Agence France-Presse reported.
Yesterday, we filed an individual application before the Turkish Constitutional Court challenging an order from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority to block 126 accounts such as @metcihan, @artigercek, @haykobagdat within Türkiye. X is committed to…
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“Yesterday, we filed an individual application before the Turkish Constitutional Court challenging an order from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority to block 126 accounts,” X’s communications team said in a post on the platform.
The company said the blocked accounts include those belonging to critics of the government, including at least one independent media outlet.
The 126 accounts, along with others, remain inaccessible within Turkey, though they are still visible globally.
The legal challenge from X comes amid a sweeping wave of digital censorship in Turkey, where the government has intensified efforts to restrict access to critical voices following the detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The company is not contesting all account blocks, only the 126 in this legal filing. It remains unclear how many accounts X has ultimately blocked in Turkey in the last months, but the number is believed to be in the hundreds.
Separately, X revealed that Turkish authorities have issued court orders to block more than 700 accounts in total since İmamoğlu’s detention — demands that the company said it is fighting. In a public statement X described these broader orders as “unlawful” and pledged to defend its users’ right to free speech through legal channels.
Among the many accounts reportedly blocked over the past week are those belonging to 12 women’s rights organizations, including the We Will Stop Femicides platform and Ekmek ve Gül, according to the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD).
These access restrictions were issued under the pretext of protecting national security and public order, a rationale frequently invoked by Turkish authorities.
It is unknown whether any of the 12 women’s platforms are among the 126 accounts X is currently challenging in court. The platform has not published the full list of accounts included in the Constitutional Court filing.
X has also blocked access to solidarity accounts run by students from leading Turkish universities, including Boğaziçi, ODTÜ and Galatasaray, amid nationwide protests.
Also blocked in Turkey is the account of Bianet, a long-standing independent media outlet with coverage focused on human rights and civil liberties. Both the Turkish and English versions of Bianet’s account are inaccessible to Turkish users.
Under Elon Musk’s ownership, X has faced criticism for its willingness to restrict content at the request of authoritarian regimes, with Turkey ranking among the top countries requesting account suspensions and content removals.
The latest wave of account blocks follows a broader pattern of platform compliance with Ankara’s escalating crackdown on dissent.
In recent months X has complied with Turkish court orders to block access to hundreds of accounts, including those of journalists, activists and media organizations.