[News] Facebook bans Myanmar military accounts from its platforms, citing coup

Facebook has banned the Myanmar military from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms with immediate effect, as weeks of mass demonstrations continue in the Southeast Asian country after the military seized power.

“Events since the February 1 coup, including deadly violence, have precipitated a need for this ban,” Facebook said in a blog post on Thursday, February 25.

“We believe the risks of allowing the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) on Facebook and Instagram are too great.”

The army seized power earlier this month after alleging fraud in a Nov. 8 election swept by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), detaining her and other party officials.

According to reports, at least three protesters and one policeman have been killed during violent protests in the country.

The social media giant said it would also ban all “Tadmadaw-linked commercial entities” from advertising on its platforms.

It said the decision to ban the Myanmar army came due to “exceptionally severe human rights abuses and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar”, as well as the army’s repeated history of violating Facebook’s rules, including since the coup.