Myanmar’s Military Regime Orders Facebook Ban

• Myanmar has gone through a power-shifting coup, and the new leader has ordered the blocking of Facebook.
• The social media platform is used by a large number of people in the country, so it’s a source of news and communication.
• Myanmar has had large-scale internet connectivity disruptions right before and during the coup d’etat.

Myanmar has returned to the darkest chapters of its history, as a military coup d’etat has overthrown the democratically elected State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who was an emblem of peace for the people of the troubled Southeast Asian country. One of the first moves of the new, illegal government is to detain key members of the ruling party and order all internet service providers in the country to block access to Facebook until February 7, 2021.

The order includes Facebook’s other products and subsidiaries, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.

The obvious goal of this move is to suppress any form of expression of opposition in the streets of Myanmar, and blocking people from accessing information or being able to organize rallies is key in achieving that. Out of a total population of 54 million, it is estimated that 22 million of them use Facebook, so this was a block that essentially keeps a huge portion of the people living in Myanmar in the dark.

Of course, other platforms remain accessible, but until people gather elsewhere and organize protests, the Tatmadaw regime will have organized and prepared well. Also, the two entities have a history.

The fact that a coup was approaching in Myanmar became pretty obvious hours before the first act was played, as Netblocks reported widespread internet disruptions starting from Sunday, January 31, 2021. These disruptions continued on Monday and were accompanied by an increasing and unjustified military mobilization.

The coup operation itself lasted for about 72 hours, starting on February 1. The official reason given for the intervention was that the recent elections, which took place on November 8, 2020, were subject to vote fraud, so Aung San Suu Kyi didn’t really win people’s vote (got 61.6%). Reminds you of something? So, the country has returned to a stratocracy now, a political state that has plagued Myanmar between 1962 and 2011.

Interestingly, while some parts of the country go through communication asphyxiation right now, others saw their access to the network and information restored. Telenor Myanmar has announced precisely that, reinstating full services to eight townships in the Rakhine and Chin states, who had their restrictions imposed back in June 2019. It is possible that the previous government felt a threat coming from this region, which has historically pushed for autonomy.