A citizen living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has alleged that Trendyol, Turkey’s largest e-commerce platform, is complicit in the surveillance efforts of Turkish intelligence agencies targeting dissidents in Iraqi Kurdistan.
A resident of KRI, who wished to remain anonymous due to security concerns, reportedly discovered an Apple Airtag smart tracking device embedded in a pair of trousers purchased from Trendyol.
“When the clothes reached me, I noticed a GPS device hidden inside,” the individual told Rojnews, a Kurdish news outlet. “My family bought these clothes from Trendyol, a famous online shopping app under state control. However, when the clothes reached me and I held the trousers they sent, I felt a hard object hidden in them. When I examined the trousers, I saw that they had embedded a GPS device.”
These allegations have sparked a wave of concern about the potential misuse of e-commerce platforms for state surveillance efforts. Critics argue that if these allegations are true, it could represent a significant breach of trust and privacy for Trendyol’s millions of users.
Trendyol, a major player in Turkey’s e-commerce sector, has yet to respond to these allegations. The company’s potential involvement in state surveillance efforts raises serious questions about the privacy and security of online shopping in Turkey, particularly for those who may be considered dissidents by the Turkish state.