Military supporters throw projectiles at Yangon residents on February 25, 2021, after weeks of mass demonstrations against the military coup.
Sai Aung Main | AFP | Getty Images
SINGAPORE – The Myanmar army has been banned from using Facebook and Instagram with immediate effect, Facebook said in a blog post on Thursday.
“The events of 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,” the statement said, referring to the official name of the forces. armies of Myanmar.
Military-controlled state and media companies will also be blocked from the two social platforms, while military-related commercial companies will not be able to broadcast commercials.
The coup greatly increases the danger posed by the above behaviors and the likelihood that online threats can lead to harm offline.
The ban does not affect ministries and government agencies that provide essential public services, such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, 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 says there was electoral fraud in last year’s election and declared a one-year state of emergency.
Thousands protested against the coup, and clashes with authorities sometimes turned violent. Reports say at least three protesters and a police officer have been killed so far.
Facebook said it has removed content from military pages and accounts in recent years for violating 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 history of “exceptional human rights abuses and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar.”
He added that the military has tried to rebuild networks involving distortions and upload content that was previously removed for violating Facebook’s policies against violence, incitement and harm coordination.
“The coup greatly increases the danger posed by the above behaviors and the likelihood that online threats can lead to harm offline,” Facebook said.
A report commissioned by Facebook found in 2018 that the social media giant had previously failed to stop 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 military-related people and organizations, including Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, the general who staged the recent coup.