Myanmar military temporarily blocks Facebook

The military regime in Myanmar has announced that Facebook and other messaging applications will remain blocked in the country until February 7. 

The Ministry of Transport and Communication issued a directive on Wednesday to all mobile operators, international gateways and service providers to block Facebook, reports Reuters. The Ministry accused that Facebook is being used by people to spread fake news and misinformation causing misunderstanding among people.

 

The largest telecom provider in Myanmar Telenor announced that it has decided to comply with the directive. Though Facebook services are still possible to access at some places, network disruption tracker NetBlocks confirmed that



Facebook, Messenger and Whatsapp servers are restricted in Myanmar on multiple internet providers.

 

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the UN will do everything to mobilize all the key actors and the international community to make sure that the coup in Myanmar fails.

 

Almost half of the 53 million population of Myanmar uses Facebook. Over the last few days after the military took over power in Myanmar, Facebook had emerged as an important platform for people to show opposition to the government. Images of people banging pots and honking cars as a show of opposition to the military government were widely shared on the social media platform.