Facebook bans Myanmar military accounts citing the coup

On Wednesday, Facebook said that it has banned Myanmar’s military and military-controlled state and media entities from its main social platform and Instagram. This action was taken by the company weeks after a military junta seized power from the civilian government in a coup.

“Events since the February 1 coup, including deadly violence, have precipitated a need for this ban. We believe the risks of allowing the Tatmadaw on Facebook and Instagram are too great,” Rafael Frankel, Facebook’s director of policy for APAC emerging countries wrote in the blog post.

Facebook acted after facing criticism for years over allowing Myanmar’s military to use the site, including inciting hatred against the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority group. Myanmar military’s main news page and a TV network page were taken down by the social network. It also took down the official accounts of senior Myanmar military leaders who were linked to Rohingya violence in 2018.

Earlier this month, Facebook decided to limit the spread of content from Myanmar’s military-run accounts and pages alleging that they have “continued to spread misinformation.”

Facebook also said that it will ban commercial entities with links to the Myanmar military from advertising on its platform. However, the ban excludes government ministries and agencies engaged in the provision of essential public services which includes the Ministry of Health and Sports, and the Ministry of Education.

Over time, Facebook has become more active on what is published on its platform, especially with the US election in the past year. It cracked down on pages and posts from the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. It also bared then President Donald J. Trump from using the platform.