Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, said on Wednesday it would ban Myanmar-military-controlled businesses from having a presence on its platform in an extension of its earlier sanctions on the country’s security forces. The US tech giant had already announced in February that it would block all military organizations known as Tatmadaw from advertising on its platform.
“This action is based on a comprehensive document of the direct role by the international community and civil society of these businesses in the funding of Tatmadaw,” said Raphael Frankel. metaPacific Director of Public Policy for Emerging Countries, Asia Pacific.
Myanmar’s military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in a coup in February, prompting widespread protests. A spokesman for the military junta, which banned itself Facebook In February, did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Frankel said Meta was identifying the companies based on a 2019 report from the United Nations fact-finding mission on Myanmar, research from activist groups Myanmar and the Burma Campaign for the UK, as well as consultations with civil society. He told Reuters it had already removed more than 100 accounts, pages and groups linked to military-controlled businesses.
Facebook plays an outsized role as the major internet channel in Myanmar and is widely used by both protesters against the military regime and soldiers. After heavy international criticism for failing to stop online hate campaigns, Facebook has pushed back against the military and has since introduced measures to protect Myanmar’s users.
The platform is also facing a $150 billion lawsuit from Rohingya refugees over allegations that it did not act against hate speech targeted at the Muslim Rohingya minority, which contributed to the violence. In 2018, UN human rights investigators said Facebook allowed the platform to be used by radical Buddhist nationalists and military members to promote campaigns of violence against the Rohingya, 700,000 of whom fled military crackdown in 2017.
Frankl declined to comment on the trial, but said: “We are shocked by the crimes committed against the Rohingya people in Myanmar. We have built a dedicated team of Burmese speakers, banned Tatmadaw, manipulated public debate.” network and acted on harmful misinformation to help keep people safe.”
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