The move comes barely a day after a similar block of Facebook.
According to the Norwegian company Telenor, which offers mobile services in the country, the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Myanmar has instructed that mobile networks and internet service providers in the country should block Twitter and Instagram.
“While the directive has a legal basis in Myanmar’s Telecommunications Act, Telenor Myanmar disputes the necessity and proportionality of the directive … and emphasizes the directive’s inconsistency with international human rights,” the company said in a statement.
NetBlocks, a service that tracks Internet disruptions and exclusions worldwide, reported Twitter (TWTR) restrictions on several other networks in Myanmar on Friday.
Twitter said it was “deeply concerned” about the order.
“This undermines public discourse and the right of people to make their voices heard,” a company spokesman told CNN Business in a statement. “The open Internet is increasingly under threat around the world. We will continue to strive to end destructive state-owned enterprises,” the spokesman added.
A spokesman for Facebook (FB), which owns Instagram and whose own platform was blocked earlier Thursday, said in a statement: “Telecommunications providers in Myanmar have been instructed to permanently block Instagram. We call on authorities to reconnect so that people in Myanmar with family and friends access important information. “
The growing repression of online services is part of Myanmar’s military effort to seize power after ousting the democratically elected government earlier this week.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto leader, along with President Win Myint and dozens of other senior figures in their National League for Democracy (NLD) were detained in raids on Monday. Hours later, the army declared that power had been transferred to Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing in response to unfounded allegations of electoral fraud. A state of emergency has been declared for one year.
Late Wednesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Suu Kyi for unspecified “import and export” offenses, while Win Myint was arrested under the country’s disaster law, according to an NLD spokesman.
While the dramatic overthrow of the Suu Kyi government has attracted international attention, constant disruption of internet access and communication means that many in Myanmar may still be unclear about what is happening.
CNN’s Philip Wang, James Griffiths and Helen Regan contributed to this report.
.Source
Related
