The TurkeyBlocks monitoring network has detected restrictions on access to multiple social media services Facebook, Twitter and YouTube throughout Turkey beginning Friday Nov 04 2016 1:20AM local time, ongoing as of Friday noon.
Restrictions on messaging services WhatsApp, Skype and Instagram have also now been detected, validating widespread user complaints about WhatsApp service failure in Turkey – the first time nationwide restrictions have been detected on the popular messaging apps in recent years.
The incident is believed to be related to the detention of multiple leaders of opposition political party HDP, accompanied by raids of the HDP headquarters in Ankara.
Such a sad turn of events for such a wonderful country.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday November 05 2016, @09:34AM
Apparently we've also been blocked in Turkey for weeks now. Not much we can do about it. Of course anyone using a VPN or TOR will still reach us but I would never advise breaking your local laws. Unless you really, really want to.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1) by Drake_Edgewater on Saturday November 05 2016, @03:28PM
I went to Istanbul in July (you may recall a story about a space science meeting being cancelled, well since I had bought tickets I decided to go there anyway) and I couldn't check SN the whole week. I bet it's been blocked since then.
It is such an amazing place, I can only hope they sort their issues soon.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Sunday November 06 2016, @08:57PM
The T24 website said that the Turkish telecommunications authority BTK had moved to restrict access to leading VPN services like Tor Project and Tunnel Bear.
-- http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/turkey/head-of-pro-kurdish-opposition-jailed-in-turkey-1.1924459 [gulfnews.com]
On Friday, the Turkish information technologies and communications authority, or BTK, ordered internet providers in the country to block Tor and several other censorship-circumvention Virtual Private Networks or VPNs, such as VPN Master, Hotspot Shield, Psiphon, Zenmate, TunnelBear, Zero, Vypr, Express, according to multiple local reports.
--
https://motherboard.vice.com/read/turkey-doubles-down-on-censorship-with-block-on-vpns-tor [vice.com]
According to T24 news platform, the Turkish telecommunications authority (BTK) moved to block access to VPN services including Tor Project, VPN Master, Hotspot Shield VPN, Psiphon, Zenmate VPN, TunnelBear, Zero VPN, VyprVPN, Private Internet Access VPN, Espress VPN and IPVanish VPN.
-- http://turkeypurge.com/turkey-now-blocking-access-to-vpn-services [turkeypurge.com]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday November 06 2016, @11:04PM
That's funny, that is. China can't manage it but Turkey thinks it can?
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 07 2016, @02:07PM
China didn't have an attempted coup this year.
A forum poster remarked that VPN connections from China are "for the most part blocked or otherwise degraded these days."
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-safe-to-use-a-VPN-to-surf-the-internet-in-China [quora.com]
The Tor project has been in a cat-and-mouse game with the Chinese censors.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/427413/how-china-blocks-the-tor-anonymity-network/ [technologyreview.com]
In Turkey, "the editor-in-chief, a cartoonist, and seven board members" of a major newspaper were arrested (http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/05/500839345/9-journalists-and-executives-at-a-leading-turkish-newspaper-are-arrested [npr.org]). If the present restrictions on Internet use turn out to be inadequate, stricter measures (such as a white-list or an attempt to totally block connections to foreign hosts) might be undertaken.