The change comes just a day after a similar Facebook block.
On Friday, Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered the country’s mobile networks and internet service providers to block Twitter and Instagram, according to Norwegian company Telenor, which offers mobile services in the country.
“Although the directive is legally based on Myanmar’s telecommunications law, Telenor Myanmar challenged the necessity and proportionality of the directive … and highlighted the contradiction of the directive with international human rights law,” the company said in a statement.
NetBlocks, a service that tracks Internet outages and shutdowns worldwide, reported Twitter (TWTR) restrictions on several other networks in Myanmar on Friday.
Twitter said it was “deeply concerned” about the request.
“This undermines public talk and people’s rights to make their voices heard,” a company spokesman said in a statement to CNN Business. “The open Internet is increasingly threatened around the world. We will continue to advocate an end to destructive government-led shutdowns,” added the spokesman.
A spokesperson for Facebook (FB), owner of Instagram and whose platform was blocked on Thursday, said in a statement: “Telecommunications providers in Myanmar have been forced to permanently block Instagram. We urge the authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can communicate with family and friends and access important information. “
The escalating crackdown on online services is part of Myanmar’s military effort to secure its control of power after deposing 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 leading figures in the National League for Democracy (NLD) were detained in pre-dawn operations on Monday. Hours later, the military declared that power had been handed over to Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing in response to unfounded allegations of electoral fraud. The state of emergency was declared for one year.
Last Wednesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Suu Kyi for unspecified “import and export” crimes, while Win Myint was in custody under the country’s Disaster Management Act, according to a spokesman for the NLD.
Although the dramatic downfall of the Suu Kyi government has attracted international attention, the continued disruptions to internet access and communications mean that many in Myanmar may not yet know what is going on.
– Philip Wang, James Griffiths and Helen Regan of CNN contributed to this report.
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