Facebook announced today that it will ban the presence on all platforms of any company linked to the Myanmar army, extending the restrictions it has already placed on the security forces of this country.
The internet giant had announced in February that it was banning any advertising content related to the Myanmar army, also known as Tatmandau.
Myanmar’s military overthrows Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a February 1 coup. A huge protest movement has erupted since then, which security forces are trying to suppress by force.
Today, Rafael Frankel, Facebook’s director of policy for emerging countries in the Asia-Pacific region, announced that the company was extending the ban to include businesses.
Frankel explained that Facebook was taking action following documents presented by the international community and non-governmental organizations, which showed that these companies “played an active role in funding the Tatmantau, the continuing violence and human rights abuses in Myanmar.”
He added that the company’s decision “is not linked” to the lawsuit filed by Rohingya refugees against Facebook, demanding $ 150 billion in compensation.
The Rohingya accuse the internet giant of allowing hate messages against their minority to be promoted on its platform.
Most Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have sought refuge in Bangladesh since 2017 after being persecuted by the armed forces in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country. An estimated 10,000 Rohingya were killed by the Burmese army in 2017.
Refusing to return to Myanmar unless the security situation improves and the authorities guarantee them equal rights, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya live in makeshift camps in appalling conditions on the country’s border with Bangladesh.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco, lawyers representing the refugees accused Facebook of “being willing to exchange Rohingya lives for better market penetration in a small country in Southeast Asia.”
They refer specifically to posts that appeared on social media, one of which, since 2013, said: “we must fight the Jews like Hitler.”
Another post read: “Pour gasoline and set fire to meet Allah more quickly.”
Facebook, which has more than 20 million users in Myanmar, admitted in 2018 that it did not do enough to prevent incitement to violence and hate speech against the Rohingya.
Reacting to the lawsuit, Frankel commented: “We are shocked by the crimes committed against the Rohingya people in Myanmar. “We have set up a dedicated group of Burmese speakers, banned (the presence of) the Tatmantau, cut off networks that manipulated public debate and took action against harmful misinformation to ensure the safety of the people.”
Human rights groups have long accused Facebook of failing to combat misinformation and fake news on its platform.
Some even complain that, despite the fact that Facebook is informed about the hate content, it does not react, something that, according to the activists, leads to persecution against minorities, while in some cases it may affect the result of electoral contests.
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I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
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