Police, Gendarmerie Reviewed 600,000+ Social Media Accounts in 2025, Annual Reports Show

Annual activity reports from Turkey's National Police Department and Gendarmerie General Command showed the two forces reviewed a combined 600,180 social media accounts in 2025 under 'virtual/online patrol' programs — up roughly 60% from 374,030 in 2024 — and opened proceedings against 210,234 identified users (up ~72% year-on-year), including 8,471 detentions, 496 arrests and 1,360 placed under judicial supervision. Monitored content included alleged terrorist propaganda, drug promotion, incitement to hatred, and posts deemed insulting to President Erdoğan, the Turkish nation, state institutions, or Atatürk. Press-freedom monitors noted the practice continues despite a 2020 Constitutional Court ruling that struck down the legal provision authorizing online-patrol surveillance as a violation of personal-data and democratic-rights protections.