SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook said on Wednesday that it had banned Myanmar’s military and military-controlled state and media entities from its platforms, weeks after the military overthrew the country’s fragile democratic government.
The move dipped the social network directly into post-coup politics in Myanmar – leaving little doubt that it was taking sides in a political struggle.
Facebook took action after years of criticism over how Myanmar’s army used the site, including inciting hatred against the country’s mostly Muslim-Rohingya minority group. Since the coup earlier this month, which ousted civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and brought Myanmar back to full military rule, the military has repeatedly shut down the Internet and cut off access to key social media sites, including Facebook.
The social network took the main news page of the Myanmar army and another TV network page offline a few days ago. It also removed the official reports of senior military leaders in Myanmar linked to the 2018 Rohingya violence. But there are many other military-linked pages still online.
Now, by taking further action, Facebook has made it clear that it is expressing a political judgment. In a statement, the company said it was banning “remaining” accounts linked to the military because the coup was an emergency. ‘
“The events since the February 1 coup, including deadly violence, have created a need for this ban,” the company said. It added that the risks of keeping the military in Myanmar on Facebook and Instagram were “too great.” It is said that the army will be banned indefinitely.
The action highlights the issues Facebook is facing with what it allows on its website. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has long advocated for freedom of speech, placing the site only as a platform and technology service that cannot drive government or social disputes.
But Mr. Zuckerberg has been increasingly scrutinized by lawmakers, regulators and users for his stance and that he can allow hate speech, misinformation and content that incites violence to flourish on Facebook.
Over time, Facebook has become more activist about what has been posted on its platform, especially in the past year with the U.S. election. Last year, it slammed pages and reports on the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. And last month, Facebook banned then-president Donald J. Trump from using the service, at least for the rest of his term, after urging his supporters to take a stand against the outcome of the election, leading to an uprising led in the US. Capitol. Mr. Trump still can not post on Facebook.
Many of these moves were too few, too late, critics said.