Facebook bans all Myanmar military-linked accounts and ads: Details
What's the story
Social media giant Facebook announced on Thursday that it was banning all accounts linked to Myanmar's military and ads from military-controlled companies in the wake of the army's seizure of power on February 1. In a statement it said that it was treating the post-coup situation in Myanmar as an emergency, explaining that ban was precipitated by events since the coup, including deadly violence.
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Bans are also being applied on Instagram
Facebook already has banned several military-linked accounts since the coup, including army-controlled Myawaddy TV and state television broadcaster MRTV. The bans are also being applied on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.
Rohingya Muslims
Social media platforms failed to curb hate-speech against Rohingya Muslim-minority
Facebook and other social media platforms came under enormous criticism in 2017 when Human Rights groups said they failed to act enough to stop hate speech against Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya minority. Myanmar Army launched a brutal counterinsurgency operation that drove more than 700,000 Rohingya to seek safety in neighboring Bangladesh, where they remain in refugee camps.
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World Court is investigating the campaign as crime of genocide
Myanmar security forces burned down villages, killed civilians, and engaged in mass rape in their campaign against the ethnic minority of Rohingya Muslims, which the World Court is investigating as a crime of genocide.
Background
Accounts of several top military leaders were banned in 2018
Facebook in 2018 banned the accounts of several top Myanmar military leaders, including Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led this month's coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party. The general heads the junta that now acts as the government.
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Junta turns off access to the internet at 1 am
The junta has tried to block Facebook and other social media platforms, but its efforts have proven ineffective. For more than a week it has also turned off access to the internet nightly from 1 am.