Facebook has placed a ban on the military of Myanmar from making use of its Facebook and Instagram platforms. The ban takes effect immediately and it came at a time characterised with weeks of persistent mass demonstrations in the country after military took over power.
In a recent blog post, Facebook said: “Events since the February 1 coup, including deadly violence, have precipitated a need for this ban.”
“We believe the risks of allowing the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) on Facebook and Instagram are too great.”
The army took over power recently after alleging fraud during the November 8 election that was swept by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and detaining her and other prominent party officials.
Reports have it that a minimum of three protesters and one policeman were killed during non-peaceful protests in the country.
Also, Facebook said it would ban all “Tadmadaw-linked commercial entities” from putting up adverts on its platforms.
Facebook said the decision to prohibited the Myanmar army was made owing to “exceptionally severe human rights abuses and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar”, and the army’s repeated history of contravening Facebook’s rules, including since the advent of the coup.
