Twitter restricted in earthquake-hit Turkey

International internet watchdogs confirmed on Wednesday that Twitter has been restricted by several ISPs in Turkey as the country suffers from two major earthquakes that have killed thousands of people.

The incident occurred as authorities expressed concern about disinformation on the Internet, although no official statement was made.

Real-time metrics from NetBlocks, an organization that monitors cybersecurity and Internet governance, show that Twitter was restricted by SNI filtering at major Internet providers TTNet and Turkcell.

This type of interference can be circumvented using VPN services that are able to bypass government Internet censorship measures, the Internet watchdog said on its website.

Tech experts condemned the measure, saying Twitter was an important way for earthquake survivors to make their voices heard.

"Twitter can be accessed through a VPN, but is cut off when you leave the VPN. Twitter is currently one of the main mediums used to communicate with the earthquake zone. Perhaps there are still people among the rubble who can transmit the call for help. If there is an obstacle on our side, please remove it," said Fatih Kadir Akin.