Facebook Bans Hundreds of Pages Related to Four Paramilitary Groups from Myanmar

• Four insurgency groups based in Myanmar have been banned from Facebook, and all profiles, pages, and groups have been taken down.
• The banned groups were found to be spreading violence in the country through their activity.
• The ban came just months after Facebook was forced to ban military accounts from Myanmar due to human rights violations.

Ethnic violence in Myanmar has been a cause for concern at Facebook since 2018. The social media platform banned a number of military accounts in August last year citing human rights abuse. The platform had to step in yet again to ban multiple paramilitary groups from Myanmar. The groups were branded as 'dangerous organizations,' and all hate-filled content was removed. The social media company revealed that it had to remove hundreds of pages, groups, and accounts so far.

The four organizations that had their accounts and posts removed from the platform include The Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Kachin Independence Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army. Facebook stated that they banned the groups to prevent any form of offline harm or let any violent activity on the platform be unchecked.

The ban has affected only a small number of insurgent groups that have been fighting for autonomous rights since 1948 after Myanmar was freed from its British rule. The insurgent groups have refused to come to an agreement with the government about a ceasefire and have also gone to war against the country’s military.

Facebook had found evidence of the organizations attacking civilians and for engaging in violent acts in Myanmar. The platform expressed its goal to avoid increasing the amount of political tension in the country. Ta'ang National Liberation Army’s spokesperson Mong Aik Kyaw revealed that the group’s page was indeed taken down but did not mention the reason offered to them by the social media platform.

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