Turkish authorities have passed a law banning the widely-used instant messaging platform Discord, following allegations that the app was being used for grooming, blackmail, and cyberbullying of children.

The US-based platform was also recently banned in Russia, leading to speculation that this influenced its subsequent ban in Turkey.

Turkey’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) officially posted their decision to completely ban the social media platform on its website on Wednesday.

This action was taken following a ruling from the Ankara First Criminal Court of Peace.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced that the court has ordered the removal of all content from the social media platform and has blocked access to the website throughout the country.

He cited “sufficient suspicion of crimes involving ‘child sexual abuse and obscenity'” carried out using Discord.

“We are dedicated to protecting our youth and children, the assurance of our future, from the damaging influences of social media and internet publications that are criminal. We will never allow any attempts to shake our social foundation,” Tunc stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Discord attracted the attention of Turkish authorities following a tragic event where a 19-year-old man committed a double murder last week.

After the incident, reports surfaced in Turkey that certain users on Discord were praising the killings, which led to public outrage against specific communities on the platform.

Turkey’s ban of the US-based messaging platform follows a similar action by Russia’s media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, which also blocked the platform on Tuesday.

The decision to restrict access to Discord was made because the platform allegedly “violated the requirements of Russian legislation” and refused to delete “illegal information.”

Roskomnadzor has requested the removal of approximately 950 posts that are said to contain illegal content such as calls for suicide, child sexual abuse, and “LGBT propaganda.”