X users in Turkey migrate to Bluesky amid censorship
Many X users in Turkey are migrating to Bluesky after X has restricted visibility to dozens of accounts in the country following nationwide protests sparked by the detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on Mar 19.
The initial restrictions began on Mar 21 when more than 40 youth organizations sharing information about student protests were blocked under Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, citing “national security and public order.” In the days that followed, additional accounts critical of the government or sharing protest-related content, including women's, animal rights, and environmental groups, were also restricted.
The censorship extended further after İmamoğlu was formally arrested and suspended from his position on Mar 23. A website promoting the boycott campaign initiated by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was blocked by order of the İstanbul 2nd Penal Judgeship of Peace on Apr 2 citing national security and public order. The same court order also blocked the X accounts of actors Berna Laçin, Rojda Demirer, and Alican Yücesoy, who supported the boycott.
Turkey restricts social media amid crackdown on İstanbul mayor
X has previously restricted access to pro-Kurdish and opposition journalists and their media outlets in Turkey. Beyond government-imposed censorship, X’s internal policies also affect the visibility of posts, especially those containing links. For example, bianet English receives a similar number of pageviews from X and Bluesky, despite having nearly 12,000 followers on X and less than 1,000 on Bluesky.
- You can follow bianet English on Bluesky at @bianet-eng.bsky.social
However, following the İmamoğlu protests, X announced that it had filed an individual application with Turkey’s Constitutional Court challenging local court orders to block accounts. The platform has also not yet enforced bans on hundreds of accounts targeted during the protests, including the account of bianet.
In response to the growing wave of access restrictions, many users in Turkey have turned to Bluesky, which claims to be decentralized and was launched as a Twitter project in 2019. The platform gained attention during debates over censorship, algorithm transparency, and content moderation after Elon Musk acquired Twitter.
Bluesky was later spun off into an independent company in 2021 and promotes itself as a network giving users more control over their data.
The platform has become increasingly popular among journalists, writers, developers, and rights advocates seeking alternatives to X.
Restrictions on Bluesky accounts
According to the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), at least 44 Bluesky accounts have already been blocked in Turkey under the same Article 8/A of Law No. 5651. These restrictions were enacted by various judicial decisions, again citing concerns over national security and public order.
Despite the rulings, Bluesky has not taken any action to suspend or block these accounts, and they remain accessible from within Turkey. However, if the platform refuses to comply with Turkish court orders to restrict access to certain users, authorities may consider a full ban on the platform, a possibility that past precedents suggest is not unlikely. (TY/VK)
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