• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, April 6, 2015

Hostage photos shared on YouTube and Twitter taken during an armed siege last week prompted a Turkish court to order blocks on the video and social site.  

Google's YouTube confirms seeing reports of the block in Turkey and continues to work to restore service. It likely means complying with the local government regulations as international governments push local authority on U.S. companies wanting to offer services in their country. 

A YouTube spokesperson said: "We see reports YouTube is blocked in Turkey, and we're working to restore the service for users as soon as possible"

Twitter's Policy account confirms reports that the service has been interrupted in Turkey, as it works to restore access, after social media users reported having problems using the site. Restoring use means working with the Turkish government to comply with orders to remove photos of last week's hostage armed siege.

Turkish authorities had moved to stop newspapers from printing images taken during the siege last week, prior to imposing the ban. The BBC reports the government accused the newspapers of disseminating "terrorist propaganda" for the DHKP-C group that was reportedly behind the attack on the courthouse.

Reports said two gunmen from a far-left group took a prosecutor hostage at Istanbul central courthouse. The three died in a shootout when police stormed the building during a rescue bid. Disturbing videos from news outlets are available in the United States on YouTube.

Numerous news organizations report that YouTube and Facebook have received a notice for removal of images, and another media outlet also named Facebook, but said the Turkish court lifted the ban on Facebook after the site agreed to remove the content.

Reuters reports a Facebook company spokesman said it would appeal the order. The news organization also reports that "twitter has agreed to shut down accounts and remove images relating to last week's hostage-taking."

Most of Turkey's Internet users access content, social sites, and video through mobile devices. Turkey takes the No. 2 ranking in terms of smartphone user growth, from 23.2% this year to 16.6% in 2016, and 14.8% in 2017, according to eMarketer. The research firm estimates that this year the country will see 28.8 million smartphone users in Turkey, rising to 32.4 million in 2016, and 37.2 million in 2017.