Ugandans take heart even in Myanmar Facebook has been temporarily blocked

February 4, 2021February 4, 2021 TheDrone

By Staff Writer

The Drone Media has established that Facebook blockage is not only in Uganda. Facebook and other services the Social Media giant owns are being temporarily blocked in Myanmar after the country’s military seized power in a coup earlier this week, according to a report by internet monitoring NetBlocks on Wednesday.

Reports reveal that local telecom operators in Myanmar temporarily blocked Facebook following an order from the country’s military government. People can’t access Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp through MPT, Myanmar’s largest telecom operator — which also happens to be partially state-owned.

In the order where it calls for the shutdown, the government claims Facebook has been contributing to instability in the country. Of the more than 50 million people who live in Myanmar, about 27 million are Facebook users. As advocacy group Access Now points out, those people depend on the website to share information and organize. The shutdown is slated to last until midnight February 7th.

“We are aware that access to Facebook is currently disrupted for some people,” a Facebook spokesperson told Engadget. “We urge authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and access important information.”

In Uganda, two days before general elections, the government through its communications regulator, ordered the “Suspension Of The Operation Of Internet Gateways” the day before the country’s general election. This action was confirmed by several users and journalists who got access to the letter sent to Internet providers. In other words, the government effectively cut off Internet access from the population to the rest of the world.

However, the blockage that was temporary has overstayed. Internet was released back to users, but access to social media is still blocked save for those who use VPN. Uganda government flaunts the same excuses the Myanmar Military officials have expressed.