Pro-military supporters launch projectiles at Yangon residents on February 25, 2021, after weeks of mass demonstrations against the military coup.
Sai Aung Main | AFP | Getty Images
SINGAPORE – Myanmar’s army has banned the use of Facebook and Instagram with immediate effect, Facebook said in a blog post on Thursday.
“Events since the February 1 coup, including deadly violence, have precipitated the need for this ban. We believe the risks of allowing Tatmadaw on Facebook and Instagram are too great,” it reads. the statement, referring to the official name of the Myanmar Armed Forces.
Military-controlled state and media companies will also be blocked from both social media platforms, while military-linked commercial companies will not be able to advertise ads.
The coup considerably increases the danger posed by the above behaviors and the likelihood that online threats can cause offline damage.
The ban does not affect ministries and government agencies that provide essential public services, such as the health ministry and the education ministry, the social media giant said.
Myanmar’s army took power on February 1, after arresting members of the democratically elected government, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The military claimed voter fraud in last year’s election and declared a one-year state of emergency.
Thousands of people have protested the coup and clashes with authorities have sometimes become violent. Reports indicate that at least three protesters and a policeman have been killed so far.
Facebook said in recent years it has removed content from military pages and accounts for violating its community standards and preventing Tatmadaw from abusing the platform.
It will now suspend the army’s accounts “indefinitely,” the company said, citing reasons such as the military’s history of “exceptionally serious human rights violations and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar.”
He added that the military has been trying to rebuild networks involving misrepresentations and upload content that had previously been removed for violating Facebook’s policies against violence, incitement and harm coordination.
“The coup greatly increases the danger posed by previous behaviors and the likelihood that online threats can cause offline damage,” Facebook said.
A commissioned report from Facebook found in 2018 that the social media giant had previously been unable to prevent the platform from “being used to encourage division and incite offline violence.”
“We agree that we can and should do more,” Facebook said at the time.
In 2018, the technology giant banned people and organizations linked to the military, including board leader Min Aung Hlaing, the general who organized the recent coup.