Myanmar junta shuts Twitter and Instagram to curb protests

A protester holds up a sign denouncing Myanmar military chief General Min Aung Hlaing during a demonstration in Yangon. Pic/AFP

Military authorities in charge of Myanmar broadened a ban on social media following this week's coup and shut Twitter and Instagram, as residents in the biggest city again banged pots and plastic bottles to show their opposition to the army takeover.

In addition to Facebook and related apps, the military government on February 5 ordered communications operators and internet service providers to cut access to Twitter and Instagram. The statement said that some people are trying to use both platforms to spread fake news. Netblocks, which tracks social media disruptions and shutdowns, confirmed the loss of Twitter service.

Instagram was already subject to restrictions. Telenor, a Norway-based telecommunications company operating in Myanmar though a subsidiary, said it had complied with the order but also challenged "the necessity and proportionality of the directive." State media are heavily censored, and Facebook in particular has become the main source of news in the country. It is also used to organise protests.

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