Freedom House 2026 Report: Turkey in "Not Free" Category for Internet Freedom

In the 2026 Freedom on the Net Report published by US-based Freedom House, Turkey was classified in the "Not Free" category with 31 points out of 100. The report revealed that online freedom of expression in the country is severely restricted by legal regulations and access blocks.

Among the notable findings in the report were the slowing down of access to social media platforms during opposition protests and decisions blocking access to numerous websites. Restrictions applied during developments in September 2025, in particular, were noted as an example of pressures on online freedom of expression. In addition, the regulation adopted in April 2026, which introduced a mandatory age verification for social media use by children under the age of 15, came under the scope of the report's review.

Turkey's score distribution was examined under three main headings: barriers to access were determined as 14 out of 25, content restrictions as 10 out of 35, and violations of user rights as 7 out of 40. Due to an increase in physical attacks against journalists, the score for the relevant indicator was reduced from 2 to 1; attacks against Hakkı Sağlam in Eskişehir in January 2026 and Nafiz Koca in Elazığ in October 2025 were cited as examples of this situation.

As a positive development, the restoration of internet infrastructure in regions affected by the February 6, 2023 earthquakes was noted. Thanks to this improvement, the score for the internet infrastructure indicator was raised from 5 to 6.