Facebook to restrict Myanmar military-led pages

Facebook released a statement announcing its decision to cut-down pages controlled by the Myanmar military or Tatmadaw for alleged misinformation on Friday, reports ANI.

"We are closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation in Myanmar, and are in close communication with governments, institutions and non-governmental organizations that care deeply about Myanmar's future," said Facebook.

Facebook has decided to limit the content distribution by Tatmadaw-run pages and profiles, including Tatmadaw Information Team, and Tatmadaw spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun's pages. Facebook would also not recommend these pages or content.

Additionally, the social media giant has denied the Myanmar government agencies the ability to send content removal requests to Facebook through channels reserved for authorities worldwide. It further added that it would confer extra protection upon journalists, civil society activists, human rights defenders and deposed political leaders against online threats and unauthorized access into their accounts.

Myanmar's military staged a coup and overthrew the democratically elected government and declared a year-long emergency on February 1st. Since then, the country has been witnessing massive anti-coup agitations organized via social media, including Facebook.