The popular social media platform Instagram, with a monthly active user count reaching 2 billion, has been in our lives for 14 years. Instagram is among the most preferred applications by users in Turkey. Estimated at a brand value of $70 billion, Instagram, known as one of the most talked-about applications globally, was founded on October 6, 2010, and is among the most widely used social media platforms globally.
While the platform gathered over 2 billion monthly active users, it drew attention with a series of features launched on February 9. The introduction of the “restrict political content” feature without any prior notice has sparked debates as it was activated against users’ wishes. It was noted that this feature was introduced to limit access to political content related to the U.S. elections or support for Palestine and informative posts. Instagram also faced controversies periodically in Turkey. The Information Technologies and Communications Authority, on August 2, blocked access to the social media platform due to its policies within the scope of catalog crimes. Following discussions with company officials, Instagram was reopened on August 10 with promises to address requests related to catalog crimes and collaborate on the censorship imposed on users.
Additionally, the Competition Authority imposed an administrative fine of 346 million Turkish liras on Meta, the parent company, in 2022 for combining data collected from services like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to hinder the activities of competitors in social network services and online video advertising markets, creating barriers to entering the market.
While the company was given time to rectify this violation, it received an administrative fine for each day until suitable compliance measures addressing concerns were presented. The compliance measures submitted to the Authority by the company this year were deemed sufficient, with the total fines imposed during the investigation and compliance process amounting to 898 million Turkish liras.
Instagram has also faced various legal proceedings worldwide, as the parent company META underwent investigations in different countries. Most recently, a $5 billion lawsuit was filed in the U.S. in the name of a 13-year-old girl, alleging that the application’s features create “addiction.” Forty-one states and the District of Columbia collectively initiated legal proceedings last year against the company, alleging that by leveraging the “addictive nature of social media,” it jeopardizes the mental health of young people and children.
Furthermore, the Irish Data Protection Commission fined Meta 91 million euros on September 27 for not properly safeguarding user passwords. Following these events, Instagram announced the launch of the “Young Accounts” application, which restricts platform usage for children and young users while incorporating security measures. Founded on October 6, 2010, by Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, Instagram had 25,000 downloads on the first day and garnered 1 million users in less than three months. The photo and video sharing platform was selected as the “app of the year” by Apple in 2012, and its Android version was released the same year.
Approximately 18 months after its establishment, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for around $1 billion. In 2013, sponsored ad photo and video sharing began on the platform, with ad revenues reaching $3 billion in 2016. The brand value of Instagram is estimated to be $70 billion.
Meta, traded on the Nasdaq index in the U.S., has a market value exceeding $1.4 trillion. In addition to its advertising value in recent years, Instagram is estimated to have created a media impact value of $16.9 billion for fashion, lifestyle, and beauty brands only in the first half of 2023.
The world-renowned football stars hold the records for followers and likes on Instagram. Lionel Messi’s photo sharing the World Cup trophy after the final had 75.1 million likes, making it the most liked post, while Christiano Ronaldo is recognized for having the most followers with 639 million users. Instagram is also one of the most preferred applications by users in Turkey.
According to the results of the Household Information Technologies Usage Survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute in 2024, the most used social media and messaging applications by individuals were ranked as WhatsApp at 86.2%, YouTube at 71.3%, and Instagram at 65.4%.