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Summary
- Myanmar's military government has temporarily blocked Facebook and its other services, including Whatsapp, Instagram, and Messenger.
- The social media giant has designated the troubled nation as a temporary high-risk location.
The military government in Myanmar has temporarily shut down access to social media platform Facebook. The move comes almost a week after the ouster of the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi.
As per reports, Facebook and its other services, including Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger have been blocked in the country. The shutdown will continue until 7 February 2021 midnight. As per the new military rulers, the social media company is responsible for inciting instability in the country.
Source: © Jaeeho | Megapixl.com
Myanmar is under military rule since 1 February 2021. All this happened as the country's overpowering military and the military supported party Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) could not accept the clear win of National League for Democracy (NLD) party and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2020 polls. Suu Kyi has been a flag bearer of democratic movements in the country.
To know more, read here: Myanmar Coup Explained: Here's What Exactly Happened
Facebook Taking Steps to Combat the Possible Violence
Meanwhile, Facebook has urged the authorities to restore its connectivity for people to access significant information and communicate with family and friends. The social media giant has temporarily put the country in its high-risk location list.
Recently, the company also made it clear that the platform will not support activities that incite violence, spread misinformation, or lead to any harm during this tense situation. Additionally, Facebook highlighted that measures are being implemented to prevent the spread of any content that promote the violence.
Source: © Twindesign | Megapixl.com
A few years back, the social media giant purged several military accounts in Myanmar after the UN issued a report criticising Facebook for being slow and ineffective. The accounts were then used to incite genocidal violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the country.
Social Media Tiff With Governments Not New
Companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter have become so giant and influential in today's time that they often find themselves not agreeing with the governments. We can say that they get bound by equal responsibilities in return with the monopoly they enjoy in the market.
The other such recent spat is Google and Facebook's disagreement with Australia's proposed media laws, aimed to balance the power game between these mega-companies and local media businesses. Google has threatened the country to remove its services, while Facebook has also unveiled plans to reduce its services, if the proposed laws get parliament approval.
Also read: Microsoft All Praise For New Media Laws Amid Australia-Google Row
Recently, Twitter and Facebook also banned the former US president Trump after the Capitol Hill incident. Read here for detailed discussion: Twitter, Facebook banning US President Trump, is it because of a power shift?
