Turkey restricted access to Twitter hours after its prime minister, Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, threatened to “root out” the social media network where wiretapped recordings have been leaked, damaging the government’s reputation ahead of local elections.
Some users trying to use Twitter were taken to a statement apparently from Turkey’s telecommunications regulator (TIB). The statement cited four court orders as the basis for blocking the site, where some users in recent weeks have posted voice recordings and documents purportedly showing evidence of corruption among ErdoÄŸan’s inner circle. It said that action had been taken against Twitter as a “protection measure”.
The firm published a message on Thursday advising users in Turkey that it was possible to send tweets using mobile phone text messaging.
ErdoÄŸan had made repeated threats to shut down social media sites after audio recordings of his alleged conversations suggesting corruption were leaked.
Two weeks ago he suggested that a total ban on sites like Facebook and YouTube were in his thoughts. The point was dismissed days later by the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, but ErdoÄŸan then repeated his claims. “We will wipe out all of these,” ErdoÄŸan told thousands of supporters at a rally in the north-west province of Bursa.
“The international community can say this, can say that. I don’t care at all. Everyone will see how powerful the Republic of Turkey is,” he said.
Previously, he said that his government was determined to stem the leaks he insisted were being instigated by followers of an influential US-based Muslim cleric, Reuters reported.