DEMOCRACY-FREEDOM: SOCIAL MEDIA -YANGON, Myanmar- Twitter condemns Myanmar’s move to block access

BANGKOK, Feb 6: Twitter on Saturday condemned Myanmar’s move to block access to its platform as part of a broadening crackdown on social media, days after a coup that imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders.

“It undermines the public conversation and the rights of people to make their voices heard,“ a spokesperson for the platform said.

“We will continue to advocate to end destructive government-led shutdowns.”

Telenor, one of the country’s main telecoms providers, earlier confirmed that authorities had ordered a blockade to Twitter and Instagram “until further notice” on Friday.

Myanmar’s de facto leader Suu Kyi and president Win Myint were detained in Monday dawn raids by the military.

The lightning coup returned the country to military rule, halting Myanmar’s brief 10-year experiment in democracy.

By Wednesday, the new regime moved to throttle Facebook –arguably Myanmar’s main mode of communication – as an online

“Civil Disobedience Movement” calling for opposition to the coup gained steam.

Internet monitor NetBlocks has also reported local disruptions of Facebook-owned platforms Whatsapp and Instagram.- AFP