Facebook has imposed widespread restrictions on content and profiles run by Myanmar’s military to prevent the spread of “misinformation” as protests against the military coup continued across the South Asian country.
The move comes as the situation in the country remains volatile following the military coup on February 1.
“In line with our global policies on repeat offenders of misinformation, we will also no longer be recommending them to people,” Rafael Frankel, Director of Policy, APAC Emerging Countries, wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
Among other military-run accounts, these measures apply to the Myanmar Military Information Team’s Facebook Page and to Myanmar Military spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun’s Facebook account.
“This same action will be applied to any additional pages that the military controls that repeatedly violate our misinformation policies,” Frankel said, adding that the social networking platform is treating the situation in Myanmar as an emergency.
After the coup, Myanmar directed state-owned telecom companies to temporarily block Facebook until February 7 midnight, alleging that the social media giant was contributing to instability in the country.
It later also imposed temporary curbs on access to micro-blogging platform Twitter and photo-sharing app Instagram.
“We join with governments, the UN, and civil society around the world in calling for internet services in Myanmar to be restored immediately so that the people there can communicate with loved ones, express their political views, access important information, and run their businesses,” Frankel said.
