Myanmar’s junta has blocked Facebook and other messaging services as they consolidate power following a coup and the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Generals who seized power on Monday claim people are using platforms to create ‘instability’ as UN chief Guterres says coup must fail.
Facebook is hugely popular in Myanmar and people are using the platform to organise protests and share photos of civil disobedience following Monday’s military coup
The move to silence online activity came after police filed charges against former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has not been seen since she was detained in the early hours of Monday morning.
She was accused for illegally importing communications equipment, and as the United Nations said it was doing all it could to mobilise an international response to the military takeover
Facebook, used by about half Myanmar’s 53 million people, has emerged as a key platform for opposition to Monday’s coup with photos of civil disobedience campaigns and nightly pot-and-pan protests widely shared.
Most people in Myanmar access Facebook through their mobile phones and it is also a crucial means of communication for businesses and government, although it has been linked to hate speech and disinformation.
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