SAN FRANCISCO -- A two-week ban on Twitter in Turkey was lifted on Thursday after a court there ruled that the ban violated freedom of expression.

“The ban has been lifted,” an official from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s office told Reuters.

Twitter was blocked ahead of local elections after leaked recordings implicating government officials in corruption were posted on the social networking service. Erdogan pledged to “root out” the network.

The controversial ban prompted an international outcry.


Google’s video-sharing website YouTube was blocked one week after Twitter. It remains blocked.

Twitter said in a tweet: “We are encouraged by the news from Turkey today and welcome our Turkish users back to Twitter.”

As soon as the ban was lifted, Twitter was inundated with messages: “Welcome back to Twitter, Turkey.”

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