SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook said on Wednesday it banned the military state and controlled by the military and media outlets from its platforms, weeks after the military overthrew the country’s fragile democratic government.
The move plunged the social network directly into Myanmar’s post-coup politics – and left little doubt that it was choosing sides in a pitched political battle.
Facebook acted after facing criticism for years about how the Myanmar military used the site, including to incite hatred against the country’s predominantly Muslim minority group Rohingya. Since the coup earlier this month, which ousted civil leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and returned Myanmar to full military rule, the military has repeatedly shut down the Internet and cut off access to major social media sites, including Facebook.
The social network took down the main news page for the Myanmar military and another page on the state TV network a few days ago. It also withdrew official reports from senior military leaders in Myanmar who were linked to Rohingya violence in 2018. But many other pages with military links were still online.
Now, in taking other steps, Facebook has made it clear that it is making a political judgment. In a statement, the company said it was banning “remaining” accounts linked to the military because the scam was “an emergency”.
“Events since the February 1 coup, including deadly violence, have precipitated the need for this ban,” said the company. He added that the risks of allowing the Myanmar military to remain on Facebook and Instagram “are too great”. He said that the military would be stopped indefinitely.
The action highlights the difficulties that Facebook faces about what it allows on its website. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, has long advocated free speech above all else, positioning the site merely as a technology platform and service that would not disrupt government or social disputes.
But Zuckerberg has been increasingly scrutinized by lawmakers, regulators and users for this stance and for allowing hate speech, misinformation and content that incites violence to flourish on Facebook.
Over time, Facebook has become more activist about what is posted on its platform, especially last year with the election in the United States. Last year, he suppressed pages and posts about the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. And last month, Facebook banned then-President Donald J. Trump from using the service, at least until the remainder of his term, after he asked his supporters to take a stand against the election results, leading to an uprising in the USA Capitol. Mr. Trump remains unable to post to Facebook.
Many of these movements were too small, too late, critics said.