The X account of EngelliWeb, a project of the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) that monitors and publicizes censorship and access blocks on the internet, has been blocked. When an attempt is made to access the account, a warning appears stating that the account has been closed due to a legal request. However, there is still no information about the grounds for the closure.
EngelliWeb operated as one of the leading platforms that monitored and archived, in real time, access restrictions imposed on websites and social media accounts. The blocking of the account meant that a platform tracking access blocks also faced a restriction itself.
The source also stated that the news website T24 had faced an access block. According to the record on the website of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), the decision concerning T24 was issued by the Istanbul 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace on September 29, 2026. The decision number was announced as 2026/8894.
Why it matters
Blocking access to the EngelliWeb account means that a monitoring channel used to make internet restrictions visible and archive them has also been removed from the publicly available flow of information. Since the grounds for the decision have not been disclosed, it remains unclear what legal assessment the restriction was based on and what avenues of appeal are available. The fact that the decision concerning T24 was recorded with the court, date and decision number increases the importance of official records in monitoring access blocks. However, the information currently available is insufficient to establish a direct legal connection between the decision concerning the EngelliWeb account and the one concerning T24; the scope and grounds of the two restrictions still need to be clarified separately.