In Myanmar, the military government has blocked the mobile Internet. In addition, Twitter and Instagram are now also blocked nationwide after Facebook.
Following public protests against the military coup in Myanmar, most of which were organized via social media, the mobile Internet was blocked on Saturday on instructions from the government. According to media reports, Twitter and Instagram should also be blocked after Facebook. The British organization Netblocks, which documents internet blocking worldwide, spoke of a “nationwide internet blackout” in Myanmar. The data volume fell to 16 percent of the normal volume on Saturday due to restrictions and power cuts.
Temporarily disabled internet
The Norwegian operator Telenor announced that all mobile operators active in the country had been instructed by the Ministry of Transport and Communication to temporarily switch off the mobile Internet . The government pointed to the “spreading of fake news” and “the stability of the country” as reasons for the Internet block, Telenor continued. The company had implemented the instruction so as not to endanger the safety of the employees on site – but was deeply concerned about the restrictions.
The military in Myanmar reverted to power on Monday night. Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been the de facto head of government since 2016, was arrested just under three months after her clear election victory along with numerous other politicians and is said to be under house arrest. After the military had Facebook blocked , protesters had organized themselves largely via other social networks such as Twitter in the past few days.
